Fruits Basket CafeBookstore
by SilverSmile
Summary: Tohru has just opened a cafe-bookstore. Watch as many people pass through, all finding hope and joy in the small store as they each search for that which will make their lives complete - love. Warning on a small amount of slash maleXmale pairing. AU
1. 1 Riceball's Opening

A brand new story in a genre I've never written in before. Now, I've kept it mostly to the main characters, so the zodiac, Kyo, Akito (female), Tohru, Arisa, Saki and Master Kazuma. This means that there are a lot of very... odd pairings. Each chapter is focused on a different character, their life, how the cafe fits into it and all the interesting people they meet along the way. This is a romance, so be prepared for lots of blushing, crushing and plain infatuation.

**Warnings**: this story will contain two slash (maleXmale) pairings, though it will be very soft, the worst being a kiss. Also, there are some very strange pairings.

Disclaimer: the characters do not belong to me.

I hope you enjoy it!

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**Fruits Basket Cafe-Bookstore **

**Chapter One – Rice-ball's Opening **

Looking at the finally finished store before her, Tohru Honda allowed a large smile to cross her face. It had taken two months for the renovations to be completed on the building, which was after all the paper work, had been done and not to mention the past few years at university to learn how she would take care of her new baby.

It was a medium sized area, with large glass windows at the front allowing plenty of natural light to stream into the building. The door was in the centre of the front of the building, the name of her café/bookstore in fancy writing along the top: 'Fruits Basket Café – Bookstore'.

She walked over to it and pushed the door open slowly, delighting in the small chime that sounded from the bell above the door. Stepping inside, she looked around the place with wide, excited brown eyes. Shelves with new books lined walls and created small, half walls around the tables and chairs that customers would later use. Towards the right was the counter area with a coffee machine along with a display area for cakes and scones, behind it and hidden from view she knew there was a small kitchen area where sandwiches and other sweet things could be prepared.

Smiling with delight, she allowed her fingers to lightly trail over the backs of chairs, the surfaces of tables, bookcases and book spines as she perused the room. Her joy only increasing the further she ventured into the space.

Pulling out a seat at the very back of the store, she sat down and allowed her mind to wander over how it was she had ended up in this position.

When she was sixteen her mother had died, being hit by a car as she stood on a street corner. It had paved the way for a more determined Tohru Honder then she had previously been. She had moved in with her Grandfather and had lived there ever since. She graduated high school and moved on to university where she had done a business management degree, her goal in life the opening of her very own café – bookstore. It had always been her mother's very favourite place, the small, slightly rundown, café – bookstore at the end of the street. It had been very sad when it had finally closed down after twenty-eight long years.

With the help of her two very best friends, Arisa Uotani and Saki Hanajima, she had finally achieved her goal at age twenty-four.

Sighing happily to herself she rested her head the table and allowed the contentment and excitement to engulf her.

'_I did it mum, I've really done it.'_

***

Tohru felt a slight thrill as she unlocked the door for the opening morning, knowing that this would be the first day that customers would be coming to her store and enjoying it. With any luck she would get someone who was like her mum had been, and would find this place to be as wonderful as that old café – bookstore had been down the end of her street as a child.

"Good morning Tohru!" A male voice called out from behind her. Looking around from where she had just pushed the door open, she smiled in greeting at the sight of one of her new employees – Shigure Inu.

"Good morning Shigure!" She called back to him as he made his way towards her down the street.

Shigure was older then her and, according to both his resume and the stories he enjoyed telling at regular intervals, he had already had quite a number of odd jobs in his short thirty years. He had done everything from high profile market research to the lowly McDonalds job. He had also done a cooking course at TAFE in his spare time a few years ago and so he was hired to help with the cooking when Tohru herself was unable to do so.

"Excited about our first day open?" He asked pleasantly as he finally reached her.

"Oh, yes! It's going to be so much fun." She gushed as he followed her inside.

"Well, I must say, the place is looking very nice. I'm sure we'll have loads of customers." He said, smiling encouragingly.

"Do you really think so?" She asked, stopping in her tracks and looking over at him with big brown eyes. He gave her a slightly funny grin before giving her a large smile.

"I'm positive it will be a great success!" He pumped one of his fists into the air to accentuate his point.

"Hello?" A new voice came from the front door.

Turning around, Tohru smiled warmly, and a little nervously, at the sight of the second of her three employees, Kyo Neko.

When she had first met Kyo she had been sure that he didn't like her. He had yelled at her lack of professionalism in the interview process and then sulked for a good minute about the whole thing when she'd apologised and explained she'd never done anything like it before. However, despite his rough exterior, there was something about him that led her to believe that he had a kind and gentle soul. Thus, when she had begun looking at the short list for potential employees', she had put his name down as a certainty.

"Hi, Kyo Neko this is Shigure Inu." She obediently introduced the two new staff mates.

She watched as the two men moved forward and shook hands, as was the common practice.

"Nice to meet you, I'm sure we're going to get along just wonderfully." Shigure said, a big smile on his face as he vigorously shook the orange haired boys hand.

"Er, yeah, sure."

'_He's probably just shy.'_ She thought to herself as she watched them.

"So, we're just waiting for Yuki to get here and then we'll all be here and ready to begin our very first day!" She clapped her hands together excitedly; she just knew this was going to be fantastic.

"Good morning, sorry I'm a bit late." The voice of Yuki Nezumi-Hebi came from the door way as he walked into the café – bookstore, the soothing chime going off from the tiny bell.

"Y-Yuki! Good morning!" Tohru exclaimed, feeling the blush staining her cheeks as she set her eyes on what could only be described as a prince. Yuki had been her first potential employee interview and she had been so nervous that she'd made a fool of herself. He was just so good looking and she'd never done anything like this before so they'd both been quite awkward in the beginning. However, once she'd told him about why she was opening the café – bookstore in the first place, he had smiled and said that it was a wonderful dream and he was so pleased that her dream was coming true for her.

She could have stopped the interview there and told him that he had the job, regardless if he had any people skills or training as a waiter. However, she had remembered Uo's words from that morning about how she had to treat everyone fairly and go through everything, even if she didn't really want to. So they had sat there for fifteen minutes, her asking questions as he answered them and they discussed his resume. In the end she had simply thanked him for his time, told him she would be in touch, and they'd gone their separate ways. Her to the next interview and him to wherever it was he was going.

"You're not late, not at all!" She quickly hurried to reassure him, feeling herself blush even harder when he smiled at her.

"Yuki, this is Kyo Neko and Shigure Inu; everyone, this is Yuki Nezumi-Hebi." She pointed to the correct person as she spoke, her usual happy smile dancing on her lips.

"It's nice to meat you both." Yuki said politely, smile still in place.

He was greeted with another one of Shigure's enthusiastic greetings while Kyo just nodded in his direction, a small frown on his face.

"So, now that everyone's here, we can start!" Tohru said, earlier embarrassment fading in light of the sheer joy she could feel welling in her heart at the idea of finally opening the café – bookstore.

The three men nodded in agreement before going about opening the store for the first time. It took a little while as no one was quite sure who was supposed to do what job first, before the closed sign was flipped around to read a cheery 'open!'

It wasn't long before they received their first customers. Two young women wandered into the café – bookstore, curious looks on their faces as they looked around in approval.

Yuki was the one who served them and Tohru found herself unable to take her eyes off her very first customers as they sat at a table for two, ordered from the brand new menu's and they lapsed into conversation between them like they would in any café.

"I'm sure you're mum would be happy to see this." Yuki's quiet voice came from behind her, causing her to jump in surprise and spin around to see him leaning against the counter as he waited for the coffee machine to finish with the dinks.

"Yeah, I like to think so." Tohru offered him a large smile but was distracted from further conversation as another new customer walked inside to the cheery chime of the doorbell.

The store had been steadily getting new customers for the past hour when Tohru was overjoyed to see her two favourite people enter the store.

"Tohru!" Arisa Uotani called out, waving a hand over her head in greeting as both Saki Hanajima and her entered the café – bookstore.

"Uo, Hana! What are you doing here?" Tohru asked, as she moved away from the register and over to them, leaving Kyo to man the counter.

"It's your very first day open, you didn't think we wouldn't come and have a look around, did you?" Arisa asked as she pulled the shorter girl into a hug.

"This looks wonderful, Tohru." Saki said quietly as Arisa released Tohru and Saki took her turn hugging the girl.

"Uo, Hana…" Tohru smiled hugely at the duo, thrilled that they had thought to come and see her, on the opening morning no less.

Arisa and Saki had been friends with Tohru since they were in middle school. Tohru's mum had helped Arisa, the former Yankee, to get out of the dangerous life style and to begin enjoying life again. Arisa had been looking after Tohru ever since as it was the one way she could think of to pay Kiyoko back. After the accident, she had doubled her efforts to make sure that Tohru had a happy and as pain-free life as she possibly could.

Saki owed Tohru the happiness and free acceptance that she now had. When she had been moved to Tohru's class, she had at first resisted all attempts that Tohru, and Arisa by extension, had made to befriend her. However, it didn't take all that long for her to cave and she gave into the friendly smile and warm, open arms of unconditional friendship and love. After the accident, Saki had sworn to keep that smile on her dearest friends face.

"So, how's business this morning?" Arisa asked, winking at Tohru as she spoke causing her to laugh.

"Oh, it's really so wonderful. I'm so happy. We've already had so many customers!" Tohru told them, elated.

"Tohru, that's wonderful!" Arisa exclaimed, hugging her friend again.

"Yes, I'm very happy for you." Saki said, nodding quietly beside her best friends.

'_I've got such wonderful friends.'_ Tohru thought to herself as they complimented her on the shop as they walked towards the back and sat down in a semi-secluded area.

"Oh, and the man cooking behind the counter is Shigure, while Kyo's working at the register and this here is Yuki." Tohru gestured to the individuals as she spoke; offering a large smile to Yuki as he stopped before them, paper and pen in hand ready to take their orders.

"Oh, are you both friends of Tohru's?" He asked, looking them over as they returned the gesture, eyes darting from him to Tohru as identical smiles began to surface on their faces.

"Yeah, we've been friends with Tohru since middle school." Arisa grinned, clearly looking like she knew something that no one else did.

"Oh, well, it's a pleasure to meet you then." Yuki offered a small smile to them.

'_They're getting along, I'm so happy.' _Tohru thought to herself, unable to keep the smile off her face.

"Here, I'll go and get you both something to eat, I'll be back in a moment." With that Tohru rushed over to the counter, happy to see her friends getting along with one another so well.

All too soon Arisa and Saki were standing and preparing to leave the shop, at first refusing the discount Tohru offered them. That was until she gave them the puppy-dog eyes and they consented, saying they would definitely stop by again as the food and atmosphere was wonderful.

"Hey Tohru, you've got fliers for this place, don't you?" Arisa asked once they'd farewelled the three men.

"Oh, um, yes I have some, they're here." Tohru reached over to the corner of the counter and picked up one of the flies and showed it to her friends.

"Well, give us some and we'll put them up at work and around for you, that way everyone'll know about this place." Arisa winked as Saki nodded along with her.

"Oh! You don't have to do that." Tohru shook her head, but was ignored by her two friends who each grabbed a stack of fliers each.

"I'll put one at the temple." Saki said, looking over the brightly coloured paper.

"And I'm going to the bath house today, so I'll be sure to drop one off there." Arisa grinned at Tohru before the two turned in union and walked towards the door.

"See you later, Tohru." They called out and before she could say anything else they were gone with the sound of the bell chiming above the door.

"Good bye, be safe." Tohru called out uselessly, hand raised slightly in farewell.

"You have some good friends in those two." Shigure voice suddenly came up from behind her, causing her to jump in fright before his words sunk in. Grinning she looked back at the empty doorway.

"Yes, yes I do."

***

It was the third day that the Fruits Basket Café – Bookstore had been open when Tohru met who would become her first 'regular'. It was the afternoon, school had just ended for the day and Tohru was watching the many school kids as they walked past through the large windows at the front of the shop. She felt slightly nostalgic as she saw a group of girls walk past in what had been her uniform when she had gone to high school.

Idly wondering if she would see anyone wearing her middle school uniform today, as she had seen someone yesterday looking in through the window, she was distracted when the chime above the door sounded, announcing a new customer.

Smile already on her face, she looked over and to her delight saw a high school boy walking over to the counter. He was slightly short for a boy in high school, around her own height, and he had soft looking blond hair atop his head. His large blue eyes seemed to sparkle with life as he shifted the bunny shaped bag on his back.

"Hi there, is this your store?" He asked boldly, as large smile on his face.

'_He's so cute!' _She thought immediately.

"Y-yes, that's right. My name's Tohru, Tohru Honda." She bowed slightly in greeting, as was custom.

"My name's Momiji Usagi, it's a pleasure to meet you." He gave her a child-like smile.

"No, the pleasure's all mine."

"You've just opened, haven't you?" He asked, moving over to the back of the shop where he could sit down. She followed, finding herself enjoying his company right away.

"Yes, we only opened two days ago."

"I was really excited when I heard that you were going to be opening. I told all my friends at school that I couldn't wait to see what it was like here. I'm so happy that it's so nice." He continued to chatter on to her, ignoring the looks he was getting from the other employees.

It was after almost half an hour of the two talking together happily that Kyo wandered over, his curiosity becoming too much for him to stay away.

"Oi, this is your shop so why don't you do some of the work too?" He snapped at her once he had reached the two.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't realise how long I had been standing here." Tohru apologised, hanging her head slightly in apology.

"Hey, don't be mean!" Momiji spoke up from his seat at the table, blue eyes locking with crimson.

"I wasn't, I was just stating a fact." Kyo said defensively, immediately finding his normally short tempter strained by just the sight of this little brat.

"You're a big meanie." Momiji insisted adamantly.

"Who there hell are you anyway, you little brat." Kyo snarled quietly, only half mindful of the other customers by a piercing look Yuki was sending him from the other side of the shop where he was waiting to take the order of a party of five.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I completely forgot to introduce you both!" Tohru exclaimed, appalled at her own thoughtlessness.

"Kyo, this is Momiji Usagi, Momiji, this is Kyo Neko. Kyo, Momiji was just saying how he once tried out for the karate team." Tohru said; hoping the talk of his favourite past time would calm some of the orange haired mans infamous temper.

"Pft, and I bet you didn't get in, did you pip-squeak?" He asked, his voice not kind but not cruel either.

"Hey, we can't all be giants like you." Momiji shot back, a cheeky smile lifting the corners of his lips as he spoke.

"Why you little brat!" Kyo made a move towards the blond, but Shigure suddenly rested a hand on his shoulder, holding him in place.

"Now now children, let's not make a seen. As they say, ca sera sera." Shigure said, his voice mocking as he sing-songed the last three words.

"Argh! You just like hearing the sound of your own voice!" Kyo snarled at Shigure who didn't deny that fact, an amused smile on his face the whole time as Kyo steadily got more annoyed with them all.

"By the way, Momiji, was it? I'm Shigure, I cook the food here." Shigure said, pointed to himself as he spoke, making Momiji grin in amusement at him.

"That must be a pretty fun job."

"Oh, yes, it's great fun. However I was once working in a performing arts studio, now that was a fun experience." Shigure said, a small amount of wistfulness in his voice as he spoke.

"Oh really! What where you doing in a performing arts studio?" Tohru asked eyes alight with excitement.

"Excuse me?" Yuki suddenly said, having walked over to the slowly gathering group of people.

"Not to be rude or anything, but we're supposed to be working." He said simply, causing Shigure to laugh and excuse himself, disappearing back into the kitchen area while Kyo cursed quietly to himself about how when he had suggested it no one had moved but because Yuki said it everyone was doing as they were told.

"Sorry Yuki, I'll get right back to work!" Tohru said, pumping a fist to show her determination.

"Umm, this is your place so you can work as little a you want." Yuki said helplessly, but she wasn't listening, too intent on going back to the counter to help out.

"So, are you going to take my order?" Momiji asked from where he was still sitting.

"Yeah, I'm Yuki by the way…"

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Please Read and Review


	2. 2 Cat's Meow

I was a bit dissapointed at the lack on interest this story was generating as it's a huge story, over 60 pages, 19 chapters.

Hopefully people reading this will deem it worth reviewing now that a new chapters been added.

Disclaimer: characters are not mine.

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**Chapter Two – Cat's Meow**

It had been three weeks since the Fruits Basket Café – Bookstore had opened for business. Three weeks since Tohru Honda had completed a life's dream. Three weeks that Kyo had been able to keep his job.

To most people, three weeks at the same job wasn't much of an achievement, but when you were Kyo it was ranking up with the longest job's he'd ever been able to keep. Kyo knew he wasn't the most socially apt person in the world – he knew that, compared to most people, he had very limited skills. He had always found it difficult to convey what he wanted to, his anger more often then not showed its ugly head and by the time he realised what he was doing it was too late and he had already hurt someone or said something cruel.

He supposed a lot of it was due to his childhood…

Kyo had known from a very young age that he was one of those unwanted kids. He had been a mistake, an inconvenience; a smear on his parents plans for perfection. His mother had committed suicide when he was only five and his abusive father had finally ditched him on a doorstep when he was eleven. From what he later learned, his father had ended up in jail – the bastard deserved it.

Although, if it hadn't of been for his screwed up childhood he never would have ended up with Master Kazuma. Master was probably the best thing that had ever happened to Kyo. Kazuma owned and ran a successful dojo that he lived next door to. As a way to vent the anger Kyo had over his young life, Kazuma had began teaching him martial arts almost as soon as he had been dumped there by his father.

At the time Kyo hadn't understood why learning martial arts was so important, but as he got older he realised that it was the perfect way to express his anger in a controlled and safe environment. However, it just wasn't enough. There was something about words that made him fumble like he was nothing more than a white belt again. This knowledge just made him angrier and before he knew it he'd be mouthing off to others and hurting both them and himself.

This inability to socially interact brought him back to why he was so secretly thankful that he still had a job after three weeks. His longest job was almost a year and that had been at a packaging company where the only thing he could get angry at had been the boxes. However, like most things in his life, that had fallen through and he'd once again found himself unemployed.

He had to admit he was a little surprised that he had even gotten this job. Tohru was a small, petite girl who often looked spaced out. The fact that one of the first things he had done upon meeting her was yell at her, he was shocked when he got the call back. However, from what he had seen these past few weeks, she had a big heart and was optimistic to the point of being nauseating. Nothing ever seemed to get her down and she appeared to get along with everyone!

Privately he found himself admiring her ability to be friends with everyone, even that annoying kid Momiji who, every time he came in – which was every frickin' day – Kyo just felt like hitting him over the head to shut him up. He had even done so last week, but it had just made Shigure laugh as Yuki rolled his eyes, Momiji cried crocodile tears and Tohru had hugged him, saying Kyo hadn't meant it.

Truthfully, Kyo had meant every second of it.

Apart from his pleasure of still having a job with a ditzy boss, Kyo had found himself expectantly butting heads with his two fellow employees. As far as Kyo was concerned, Yuki Nezumi-Hebi was nothing more then a rich little know-it-all snot. There was just something about the bastard that got under Kyo's skin the moment they had met. Not that watching the rat making mooneyes at his boss wasn't endlessly entertaining. Although, watching her make them back was a little less amusing as they seemed to have perfected the art of not catching the other doing it so they were both pining away in silence.

Shigure was a completely different ball game from Yuki. The older man was clearly a pervert, though Kyo was pretty sure most of it was nothing more than an act. The way he charmed and smiled at the high school girls who came into the café – bookstore made Kyo want to be sick. The man really should act his age, not his shoe size. The idiot also loved to hear himself talk and Tohru was oblivious enough to believe every word that came out of the man's mouth, even when every second word was crap. Kyo didn't know how someone could be that naïve.

However, there were times when Shigure would get a serious look on his face and say something intelligent and insightful for once, only to ruin it a moment later when his mouth kept running and sprouted out something else stupid.

Kyo was wiping down the front counter from where an idiot had spilt their tea just moments before; Kyo had managed to not say anything, just send them a filthy glare, when the door chimed, announcing the arrival of more customers. Looking up to greet them, as was expected of them; Kyo felt the words die in his throat as a scowl appeared on his face instead.

"Hey, Orange-top!" Arisa Uotani called out as she and Saki Hanajima entered the shop. Snorting, Kyo stood up straight and stopped what he was doing so that he could focus all his attention on the ex-Yankee and her creepy friend.

He didn't care what Tohru said to try and convince him, her friends were NOT normal.

"Yankee, Psychic." He nodded stiffly to them both.

"Hello," Saki said quietly, her voice was always so calm and quiet. It freaked Kyo out!

"So, where's Tohru?" Arisa continued, as if Kyo hadn't said anything at all.

"She's not here right now, you'll have to come back later." He said sharply, mind flashing back to what had happened last time Tohru hadn't been there when her friends had turned up.

Arisa had pulled him to the side once it was established that Tohru was indeed not there and wouldn't be back to a while. Staring him straight in the eyes she had calmly told him that she knew all about his past ventures of employment and how he was known as a delinquent. That aside, she didn't give a crap who he was or who he thought he was, if he so much as upset Tohru in any way she would remove him from the equation all together. Subtly, she had threatened to kill him if he screwed up at all.

Kyo wasn't one who enjoyed being threatened and, due to his reputation, wasn't normally on the receiving end of threats anyway. However, seeing the deadly serious glint in her eyes, he knew that she wasn't joking around, she was deadly serious. A desire to protect those that you loved was something Kyo could relate to and so he had taken the threat to heart and it was always in the forefront of his mind.

"Nah, we'll just grab two of the usual, thanks." Arisa said as they moved to their usual table in the back of the place.

"You're supposed to spell everything out to us to you can't say we got the order wrong." Kyo called out to them, but Arisa just waved her hand carelessly and Saki didn't even bother to acknowledge him.

Quiet snickering caught his attention and he looked over to see Shigure had poked his head out of the kitchen area and had obviously been watching the proceedings with amusement.

"You got something you wanna say?" Kyo bit out; already irritated with the idiot for laughing when the moron from earlier had spilt the tea.

"Oh, no, nothing at all." Shigure held up his hands innocently, though his eyes revealed the mischievous streak.

Grumbling, Kyo made up the two woman's usual drinks, the ones they had been having from the very first day they had come on opening morning, before placing them on the counter as Yuki came over to him to drop off another order.

"Hey, take these over to those two up back, would you?" Kyo managed civilly.

Raising his eyebrows at him, Yuki leaned over the cups slightly to inspect the drinks. Recognising the combination, a small smile twitched at the corner of his lips.

"Why don't you give Tohru's friends their drinks yourself?" He asked, seemingly casually. However, Kyo could hear the amusement in the back of his voice, he hadn't been very quiet about thinking Kyo was afraid of the two after the little confrontation with Arisa. Which was rubbish, Kyo wasn't afraid of anything.

"Don't be a pain in the ass Yuki, just take the drinks over to them." He snapped, reaching over and grabbing the paper order from Yuki's slack fingers and turning his back on the amused purple eyes.

Kyo let out a small sigh of relief when he heard movement behind him followed by the loud welcome Arisa shouted out. Quickly he glanced at the kitchen, but for once Shigure appeared to be actually doing his job rather than socializing with everyone or making fun of people.

Glancing down at the order in his hand he swore quietly to himself at how specifically complicated it was.

'_Why the hell can't people just eat what's on the menu instead of adding or taking away bits and pieces?'_

Grumbling to himself he set to work on the order, unsure if this was better than dealing with those two idiots.

***

It was two hours later that found the annoying kid pestering Kyo at the counter. Momiji had been an irritating constant since the third day that they had been open. He was always hanging around when he wasn't at school. Seriously, didn't the kid have anything better to do in his spare time apart from annoying Kyo?

"And then he said it had nothing to do with it! Can you believe that, Kyo? All that work for nothing!" Momiji exclaimed; leaning over the counter so that he could see Kyo who was squatting down trying to reach the cleaning gear so that he could go and clean some of the tables while there was a lull in business.

"Do you ever shut up?" Kyo asked moodily as he finally found what he was looking for and stood up again.

"Nope." Momiji said, happily continuing on with whatever the hell it was he was talking about.

Grumbling to himself, Kyo tried his hardest to ignore the constant chatter coming from his newly acquired shadow as he moved from table to table, cleaning up other people's mess. In fact, Kyo had managed to tune out everything around him so well he was shocked when he stumbled over someone's black booted foot.

Regaining his balance, he looked up, fully papered to yell at the moron who had dared to trip him up, only to feel his breath catch in his throat at the sight before him. A guy around his own age was sitting in the seat before him at a small two-seater table. His hair was an odd two-toned white with black underneath and his cool grey eyes looked up into his own crimson ones with only slight surprise.

'_Wow…'_

"Oh… sorry about that." The mystery man said, a small smile quirking the corner of his lips.

"Oh! Um, no, it's ok." He could feel a blush creeping up his cheeks as he spoke, mentally cursing himself for having red hair.

They were awkwardly still for a moment before Kyo remembered where he was and felt the blush deepen as he hastily grabbed the dirty dishes and almost ran back over to the counter, completely embarrassed. Here he was, working at a café – bookstore, and the cutest guy he'd ever seen comes in and sees him make a complete fool of himself.

"Kyo-o."

'_Shit.'_ Was all Kyo could think as he looked over at the stupid blond twit whom he had forgotten was following him around. The grin on Momiji's face said clearly that he was entertained at Kyo's expense.

"Not. One. Word." Kyo snarled at him, crimson eyes alight with the flames from hell itself.

Pouting, Momiji seemed to take Kyo seriously for a change and he moved away from the orange haired man before he could push him too far and get hit over the head again.

Ignoring everyone else around him, Kyo tried in vainly to just do his work and not pay any attention to the guy who, when he looked up, was looking over at him.

"Hey," head snapping up Kyo was disturbed to find himself slightly disappointed to find it was only Yuki standing at the counter before him, another order in his hand.

"This one's for that guy with the funny coloured hair over there." Yuki said, carelessly jerking his head back towards where the cutie was sitting. Seeing as he was clearly by himself, it must have been his order.

"S-sure." Kyo reached out and went to grab the paper but Yuki suddenly pulled it out of his reach, an almost calculating look in his purple eyes.

"Hey, give it here or do it yourself!" Kyo yelled, face flushing with both embarrassment and anger.

Yuki remained still for a moment before a smirk suddenly began to creep across his face.

"Actually, I'll do this one. There aren't any more people to serve so I'm free for now."

Kyo felt his face flush as he realised with a sinking feeling that the bastard had figured out Kyo's new crush.

'_Can't I have any secrets for longer than five seconds?'_ He bemoaned his sad lot in life before the usual anger hit him.

"Do whatever the hell you want." He snarled at the idiot before him, turning on his heel and going into the kitchen to hide away for a while.

He managed to hide in silence for only five minutes before Shigure couldn't hold his tongue any longer.

"So… what're you sulking for?" He asked, casually flipping over a salad in a bowl.

"I'm not sulking." Kyo snarled back, crossing his arms over his chest and perching on a stool in the corner.

"Well, if you're not sulking you must be hiding… are Saki and Arisa still here?" Shigure asked with a small smile on his face, dark brown eyes shooting over to Kyo for a moment before they went back to his task at hand.

"They've already left if you must know." Kyo said moodily. Really, couldn't he just leave him alone?

"Hmm." They were in silence for a little while before Shigure disappeared out to the counter to deposit the salad for Yuki, only to come back into the kitchen and shot Kyo an amused grin.

Stupid bastard had told the cook what was going on!

Humiliated, Kyo just sent him a vicious glare before dropping his head in shame.

He sat in silence as Shigure hummed tunelessly under his breath as he cooked more of the food. They remained that way, Kyo sitting pathetically on his stool and wallowing in embarrassment until the humming finally stoped.

"You know." Shigure began, causing Kyo to tense up, prepared to yell at him if he dared to make fun of him.

"There's nothing wrong if you like that guy." Kyo looked up at the black haired man, surprised at the advice he was receiving.

"I know that." Kyo said quietly, looking back down at the ground as he pulled up one of his legs to rest his chin on his knee.

"So why are you hiding in here if you know it's ok."

"I don't want to see that idiots laughing face." Kyo mumbled, eyes still trained on the floor.

"Don't let other's dictate what you can and can't do. I'm sure you know Yuki likes Tohru, but he's not doing anything about it. Why not show him that you're braver than him by doing something about it." Shigure suggested, catching Kyo's eye as he looked up in surprise.

Sitting there for a moment, Kyo allowed his thoughts to stew on the unlikely advice.

"Here." Shigure held out a plate to him, the pasta on it steaming with heat. Looking up in confusion, Kyo raised an eyebrow, silently asking what the idiot wanted.

"It's your lover boys lunch." Shigure winked, causing a brilliant blush to cover Kyo's cheeks.

"Shut up you stupid moron! Do it yourself you lazy ass!"

***

It was as Kyo was walking home to the dojo that his thoughts once again drifted back to the mysteriously hot guy he had seen today. After Shigure's crack about taking his 'love's plate' out to him, Kyo had angrily told Tohru he was going on his lunch break and would be back later. He had purposely taken as long as he possibly could get away with until he had forced himself to return. By that time the guy was gone and Kyo had threatened anyone who spoke of him again.

'_That guy had the most gorgeous grey eyes…'_

Arriving at the dojo Kyo went through his familiar routine with only half a mind, the other half still focused on his blurring memory of that guy. He secretly hoped that he would come to the café – bookstore again one day.

Kyo had just walked into the hallway that led to the main area of the dojo when he accidently bumped into someone.

"Hey, look where you're-" Kyo lost his voice as he looked into gorgeous grey eyes. Standing before him in the dojo's uniform was the guy from before in the flesh.

"Hey, you're the guy from the café, right?" The guy offered a small smile to Kyo causing his cheeks to heat up.

"Yeah." Kyo said, embarrassed at how breathless his voice sounded.

'_What the hell am I doing?' _

Shaking his head slightly, Kyo stood up straight and pushed all the embarrassment and funny feelings assaulting him to the back of his mind and focused on acting normal.

"I'm Kyo Neko, by the way." He held out his hand and all his hard work of acting normal was almost undone when his companion grabbed hold of his hand to shake it. The warmth of his hand sent tingles through his system and he felt slightly light headed by it all.

"My name's Hatsuharu Ushi. It's a pleasure to meet you, Kyo."

'_It should be illegal for someone to say a name like that.'_ Kyo thought to himself, horrified to feel the shivers that ran down his spine at the sound of his name on Hatsuharu's tongue.

"Ah, Kyo." Another voice broke the moment between the two and Kyo hurried to drop hands. He could feel the heat staining his cheeks and he looked down slightly, embarrassed to have his would-be-father catch him.

"Master, it's good to see you." Looking up from under his orange hair, Kyo allowed a smile to cross his lips at the sight of his martial arts master and the man who was practically his father, Master Kazuma Inoue.

"Kyo, this here is Hatsuharu, he's just started here today. His old dojo was forced to close so he moved here." Kazuma said, hand resting on Hastuharu's shoulder as he spoke, the other man just smiling that small smile the whole while.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Kyo said sympathetically. Personally he wouldn't know what to do with himself if the dojo was to suddenly close up; it was a much his home as his house next door.

"It's alright." Something dark flickered in Hastuharu's eyes for a second as the small smile became more like a smirk. "It might even end up being a good thing, I think I was ready to move on anyway."

Staring at the guy, Kyo was distracted from further contemplations when he felt his Master's hand rest on his shoulder. Looking up at the slightly taller man, Kyo immediately knew that Kazuma wanted him to do something.

"Kyo, would you be able to show Hastuharu around, from a students perspective. I'm just an instructor so I'm sure there are many things that you students know about, or think, that I would never dream should be relevant in an introduction to a new dojo. Then, if there's still time, I'd like you to go through some exercises together, to get a feel for where Hatsuharu's strengths are and where he can improve."

Glancing over at the guy who suddenly appeared calm and serine again, Kyo nodded his head slightly. A small squeeze from the hand resting on his shoulder and Kazuma let go.

"I look forward to seeing you again soon, Hastuharu. Kyo, till dinner tonight." With that the Master of the dojo turned and walked away, leaving the two men to themselves.

"Dinner?" Hatsuharu asked, voice slightly curious.

"Yeah, I live with Master, have since I was a kid." Kyo shrugged, feeling the usual feeling of uncomfortableness that he usually got when his past was brought up.

"Oh," was all Hastuharu said as they stood there for a moment in silence.

"My parents got divorced when I was eight, very messy. Took them four years to get everything sorted out." Kyo looked at him in confusion.

'_Why is he telling me this?'_

"Their major problem was who got landed with me, neither wanted the burden." Hatsuharu slanted his eyes slightly, that dark flicker and small smirk appearing one again.

Kyo's eyes widened with shock.

"Anyway, are you going to show me around the dojo?" Though the darkness was still present in his grey eyes, that small, soft smile was back as if it had never left.

Blinking is the abrupt change in topic, Kyo nodded slightly.

"Yeah, let's start this way." Kyo turned and began walking down the hallway, the opposite way Master Kazuma had gone.

'_Maybe we've got more in common than I would have thought.'_

_

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	3. 3 Master's Gratitude

Disclaimer - Character's are not mine.

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**Chapter Three – Master's Gratitude**

It had been five weeks since Kyo had been lucky enough to land the job of a waiter at Fruits Basket Café – Bookstore. Kazuma had been relieved when Kyo had received the phone call to say that the job was his if he wanted it. He was also slightly surprised that Kyo had managed to hold onto it for so long.

While his adopted son had a big heart and just wanted what was best for people, he was seriously lacking in the social skills department. It was a pity, as when he was calm and relaxed he was so enjoyable to be around. It took a lot of patience and persistence to see through the tough exterior that Kyo had erected around himself as a result of his harsh childhood.

Kazuma could still remember the day he had opened the door to his house after the doorbell had rung, only to find a small orange haired child standing there with a brave expression on his face. He could still hear the blunt words of the child, simply stating that his father had finally dumped him somewhere and did he know what he should do now.

It had only taken a few dozen phone calls and four days for Kazuma to understand what had happened. Apparently Kyo's mother had died when Kyo was just five and his father hadn't taken the death very well, lashing out at Kyo as he was a convenient and defenceless target. That was part of the reason why, after he had made the commitment to take Kyo in, he had began teaching him how to defend himself. So that if anyone ever tried to hurt him again, they wouldn't be able to without Kyo fighting back.

Looking at Kyo now, thirteen years after that first day on his doorstep, Kazuma thought he had done a pretty good job of raising him. Many people had claimed that he was too young to raise a child, even if said child was already half grown. Kazume has scoffed at them; he was twenty and that was old enough as far as he was concerned. Sure, Kyo had been a handful in the beginning, his temper unpredictable and his manners erratic at best. But underneath all of it was a hurt little boy who just wanted someone to love him and his faults.

So, Kazuma had taken him in and based the rest of his life around the small boy who had now grown into a strong, if still mouthy, adult.

Still, despite his belief that he had done a good job with Kyo, despite all the many problems going on around them, Kazuma did find himself in odd moments wondering if Kyo would have been calmer if there had been a woman in the picture. Maybe a woman's gentle touch could have calmed some of the hurt and anger that Kyo always seemed to be holding inside…

The sound of quiet laughter broke through his thoughts and he looked over to the side of the dojo to see the object of his thoughts with his new friend. Kyo could rarely be seen in the dojo without Hastuharu, or Haru as he had told everyone to call him. The new boy was almost completely opposite from Kyo, with his calm demeanour and softly spoken words; it was often difficult to tell what he was really thinking behind those mysterious grey eyes. Whereas Kyo was loud, he was quick to anger and often said things he didn't mean, his crimson coloured eyes silently expressing his feelings that he couldn't put into words.

Watching silently, Kazuma allowed a small smile to lift the corners of his lips at the sight of Kyo sending Haru a side-ways glance, cheeks slightly pink as he quickly looked away when Haru caught him. While he was looking away he missed the small smile that lifted Haru's lips before he looked away as well, as if nothing had happened.

'_I wonder who will act on their feelings first?'_ Kazuma wondered idly to himself as the two boys approached him.

"Afternoon boys." He greeted them as they both bowed slightly to him in a sign of respect.

"Afternoon Master." They said in union.

"How are you both today?" He asked while suppressing a smile as Kyo's eyes once again strayed to his friend.

"Good, thank you Master. Yourself?" Haru spoke quietly, small smile in place.

"I am well, Haru."

Turning to Kyo, Kazuma raised an eyebrow slightly.

"I thought you had work today." Dread filled him with the thought that maybe that job at the café – bookstore was over with now, like so many before it.

"Nah, it was a slow day so Tohru said we could all go home early." Kyo shrugged his shoulders good-naturedly.

Kazuma was slightly surprised to hear a faint hint of affection in Kyo's voice at the mention of his boss. Clearly this young woman was having a good influence on his volatile son. Maybe she was the reason Kyo hadn't been snapping at the younger students so much lately, even when they screwed up something he perceived to be simple.

"Hmm…" Turning, Kazuma dismissed the two, thoughts already elsewhere.

'_Maybe it would be a good idea t__o go and visit this Tohru Honda. After all, I should thank her for giving Kyo a chance where so many other's have refused.'_

This thought in mind, Kazuma mentally made plans for the next day.

Kazuma purposely waited down the end of the street until Kyo left the shop for his lunchbreak before he ventured down. Kyo often felt embarrassed when Kazuma showed up at his work, so with any luck the boy wouldn't know about his visit until someone mentioned it, if at all.

While he had never been inside the Fruits Basket Café – Bookstore, Kazuma had passed by it before. He had seen it bustling with people, none appearing to leave displeased, so he assumed it was a good business.

Opening the front door, he heard a small chime sound above him. Looking around it appeared to be fairly quiet right now with only a few customers seated at tables, talking quietly to themselves. A light purple haired guy around Kyo's age was fiddling with something behind the counter and a dark haired man leaned against the counter talking to a small blond boy wearing a school uniform.

However, it was the brown haired young woman, coming out behind the counter from what he assumed was the cooking area, that caught his attention.

Walking over to her, she looked up at him and smiled warmly in welcome.

"Hello! Welcome to the Fruits Basket Café – Bookstore. How can I help you today?" While the words were generic, there was something about her that made him think she really meant them.

"Hello, are you Tohru Honder, by an chance?" He knew he was right the moment a slightly puzzled look crossed her face before she nodded slightly.

"Um, yes that would be me."

"My name's Kazuma Inoue, Kyo might have mentioned me." He trailed off as a practically enthusiastic look crossed her face.

"OH! You're Kyo's father, aren't you!" She exclaimed loudly, catching the attention of the others.

"Yes, I am. I was wondering if I could have a quick word to you, in private if you don't mind." He smiled pleasantly at her; inwardly wincing slightly at all the attention they were now receiving.

"Yes, yes of course." She nodded quickly and led him around the counter and into the kitchen area that was deserted for the moment. Once alone she turned to him and offered a still slightly confused smile.

"I wonder, have you heard about Kyo's past employment ventures?" He began slowly, wanting to know if she knew anything about it.

"Um, not really. Kyo hasn't said much about it before." She said hesitantly.

'_Ah, so that may have had something to do with why she employed him… But I wonder just how she will react when she finds out?'_ He paused a moment, making a decisive decision before answering.

"Kyo has something of a reputation of being a bad business decision." Kazuma began slowly, watching her carefully for a reaction.

"Many potential employers see his name and immediately cross it off their list, so to speak. He's had a lot of problems with keeping jobs over the years and it is partly his fault. He doesn't have a very good handle on his temper and often times he lashes out for little things. This, naturally, doesn't inspire people to keep him on for very long."

Seeing her huge eyes and slightly open mouth he guesses she'd really had no idea at all.

"It's not that he's a bad kid, he's good and he tries hard. But due to his hard past, he often finds himself unable to express himself in anyway except through anger." Kazuma was prevented from saying anything else as Tohru shook her head, eyes downcast as she did so.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly, voice sounding slightly chocked up.

'_Please tell me I didn't just get Kyo fired…'_

"I'm so sorry that he had a hard past. It's not his fault that he can't control his temper, it not! I know he's trying his very best to get better at being nice around people. I can see his trying, so don't worry."

She suddenly looked up and Kazuma was slightly surprised at the sheer determination he could see in her eyes. It actually reminded him of a younger Kyo.

"He will get better, he is every single day! He can go a few days without yelling at Momiji now, whereas before he couldn't last a few hours. He's getting better and, I'm sure, he just wants to make you proud. There's nothing more a person wants then for their parents to be proud of them. I know he's trying really hard, so don't worry about him." A beautiful smile suddenly spread over her face as she looked at him, clear affection for his son in her eyes.

"Kyo really care's about people and he shows it in his own way just like everyone else does. He's a wonderful person who I'm so thankful for knowing."

Looking at the young woman before him, Kazuma was very thankful himself. Thankful that his son, who had been hurt so many times before by so many people, was finally in the hands of someone who really, truly cared about him.

"Well, thank you, Tohru Honda." He smiled back at her, causing her cheeks to flush and her to shake her head.

"No, no, no; thank you Kazuma! Thank you so much for letting Kyo work here. I don't know what we'd do without him."

'_This girl wa__s one of a kind. Too bad Kyo doesn't like girls.'_

Smiling, Kazuma mentally shook of the previous conversation and stood up straighter.

"So, now that that's out of the way, how about one of your lovely sounding hot chocolate's, Kyo's mentioned to me how nice they are and I'd love to try them."

"Oh, yes, of course. Come right this way." With a bubbly smile she led him back through the kitchen and around the counter, politely ignoring the inquisitive looks from the three guys standing there, and to one of the tables near the back where a semblance of privacy was felt.

"So," she giggled slightly as she pulled out a pad of paper and a pen. " What can I get for you today, a hot chocolate?"

Smiling he played along and before he knew it she was off and placing his order, laughing and talking with the purple haired guy as he worked the coffee machine.

Kazuma watched and smiled at the interactions of the staff of Fruits Basket, how they all appeared to be friends with one another. However, he did wonder how his son fit into the dynamic.

He had just finished his drink and was about to stand up to leave when the door chimed again and when he looked up he saw Kyo and, only to his slight surprise, Haru entre the shop. Apparently Kyo's lunch break was over.

Sitting silently, he observed as the blond boy looked up at their arrival and said something, causing the black haired man and the purple haired man to laugh while Tohru had more of a nervous smile on her face. Kyo flushed slightly and for a moment Kazuma was sure that he would lash out at the younger boy, but he merely wacked him over the head harmlessly as Haru smiled next to him.

Kazuma watched in slight shock as his son interacted with the people here as if it was nothing more than second nature. It was then that he realised just what this job had given his son. Not only a place to work, but people who accepted him, who were his friends.

Kazuma smiled.

Standing up he walked over to the group of friends, causing Kyo's eyes to widen as they landed on him.

"Master?" The question was clear in his eyes as he looked at him, but Kazuma ignored it.

"I'll see you when you get home, Kyo." Nodding to Haru and sending Tohru a smile, Kazuma headed for the door. However, it opened before he could get to it, the door almost hitting him. Yet, he found his eyes drawn to the young woman who had just stepped inside. With long black hair that cascaded down her back and dark eyes, she was beautiful.

"Oh," she looked up at him in surprise for a moment before a pink blush began spreading over her delicate looking cheeks.

'_What a cute blush.'_

"Sorry about that, I wasn't looking at where I was going." Kazuma apologised with an easy smile.

"No, I was in a rush." She offered a small smile back to him.

He moved to go past her, only to feel a small hand rest on his upper arm as he reached for the door. Looking over, smile still in place, he saw her looking at the floor bashfully.

"I'm Saki by the way, Saki Hanajima." She looked up through her eyelashes as she finished her introduction.

Inwardly, Kazuma grinned stupidly. It had been a long time since he had felt any real attraction to a woman just on sight alone.

"I'm Kazuma, Kazuma Inoue." He replied, feeling slightly silly when a depressed feeling swiftly swept through him when she dropped her hand.

"It was nice to meet you, Kazuma." She said, shyly glancing at the ground again before turning away.

He stood still for a moment as she headed over to the group at the counter who had watched the whole thing. He ignored Kyo's odd look and the black haired man's particularly entertained look in favour of checking out Saki behind her back.

"The pleasure was all mine." He said softly, more to himself then anyone else, before he turned and left the store. Allowing a silly smile to cross his lips once he was out of sight of the windows and everyone staring, he made his way home with a skip to his step.

Kyo's new job really was a fantastic thing.


	4. 4 Rooster's Prayers

Disclaimer - Character's are not mine.

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**Chapter Four – Rooster's Prayers **

Carefully setting the incense in the small holder on the shrine, Koreno bowed his head and prayed for his parents and sisters as he did every time he came to Hanajima shrine house.

The quiet of the shrine had always soothed Koreno. Having grown up in a house with four older sisters, it had rarely been quiet. That was probably why he had always loved going to the shrine where the priest, Mr Hanajima, had allowed him to spend hours and hours a week just wandering around and doing the odd job when needed. Now that he was older he didn't get to go as often, however he still managed to make time each week for at least a little time to pray and thank whoever was up there for protecting those he loved.

The quiet sound of footsteps alerted him to the presence of someone else and, looking up, he saw the priest's granddaughter, Saki Hanajima, walking towards him.

"Saki, you startled me." Koreno offered her a small smile of welcome as she came over and kneeled beside him.

"Grandpa told me you were around, so I thought I'd come and say hello." She bowed her head, hands clasped before her, to the shrine before looking over at him with a small smile.

"I've not seen you for a while now," Koreno agreed.

Saki was about four years younger than Koreno himself; as such he had seen her around the shrine a lot as a child. He could remember her crying because the kids at school had picked on her and excluded her because she was different. While he himself didn't really understand anything about electrical waves in the body, he could appreciate her unique way of viewing the world.

It wasn't until middle school that she finally found some descent friends. He saw less of her after that as she spent most of her time with them. He was happy for her, if a little sad that he was no longer able to see her so much. Over the past few years they had only seen one another a few times, hearing about each other's lives through her grandfather.

"I'm good, my electrical waves are all positive." She looked over at him with her usual blank expression, dark eyes seeming to glisten slightly.

"Your own electrical waves appear to be fairly positive as well."

He just smiled at her, knowing that such a comment didn't require a response.

'_Still as odd as always__, I see.'_ He thought amusedly.

"I hear you've been working here at the shrine for a while now." He spoke after a few minutes of comfortable silence between them, both sitting before the shrine and enjoying the stillness of the area.

"Yes, it allows me flexible hours so I can go and visit a friend of mine."

"Are they well?" He asked, concerned for her friend even if he had never met them before.

"Oh, yes, they're very happy. She has just opened her own business, so I go and check to make sure it is all going well. I wouldn't want something bad to happen to her."

Koreno grinned slightly.

'_Typically Saki, always so concerned about everyone else around her.' _

"What kind of business?"

"A café – bookstore. It's called Fruits Basket." She looked up at him with her dark eyes. "You should go have a look around."

She suddenly stood up and reached into a pocket of her black dress. Pulling out a slightly crumpled, bright yellow flier she held it out for him. Taking it he looked at the logo and then the helpful directions on how to get there.

"Tell the waiters there that Saki sent you, I'm sure Tohru will give you a discount then." She turned slightly away from him. "Try the jasmine tea, it's lovely."

She began to walk away, her voice floating back to him.

"May pleasant electrical waves follow you."

'_Definitely still strange.'_He grinned.

Glancing back down at the flier, Koreno shrugged slightly before pushing it into his pocket and glancing at his watch. Sighing, he stood, his lunch break now up, and began making his way back to his office job. Leaving the peaceful atmosphere for the hectic lifestyle he led.

It was another four days before Koreno managed to find time to visit Fruits Basket Café – Bookstore. He had finished on time for once and, as he had skipped lunch, he decided that he should treat himself to something nice to eat. Pulling out the flier from his pocket, he diligently followed the instructions on how to get there and before he knew it he found himself standing before a brightly lit shop, which had a cheerful feeling to it.

Opening the door he absentmindedly noted a cheerful sounding chime from the bell above the door. He walked into the shop and made his way over to a small two-chaired table about halfway into the shop. Sitting down, he allowed is eyes to wander for a moment when he suddenly saw the cutest girl he had ever seen before.

With shoulder length blond hair and deep blue eyes, she was gorgeous.

He watched in some shock as she walked over to him and he felt his heart speed up slightly, only for embarrassment to assault him when she pulled out a pen and paper to take his order.

"Hi there, what can I get for you today?" She asked, her voice light and almost playful sounding.

"Hi, I've been advised to come here and have some of your jasmine tea." He paused for a moment before adding: "Saki sent me."

"Oh! Are you Koreno?" The blond asked, smile getting a little bit larger, if that was possible.

"Yes, and you are?" He asked, thankful for an excuse to ask her name.

"I'm Arisa Uotani, one of Saki's friends."

"Oh, I thought Saki said her friend owned this place, not worked here?" He asked, curious.

"Oh, yeah, Tohru owns this place. I don't actually work here, I'm just doing her a favour because one of the waiters, Yuki, he had to do an extra study class today." She explained, smile turning slightly shy.

"Oh, well that explains it." He offered her another smile, finding her shy one adorable.

"Well, Saki said that we needed to give you a discount for your excellent record for visiting Grandpa Hanajima's temple." Arisa said, jotting down something on her notebook.

"Was there anything else you'd like today?" She asked, looking back up at him though her blond bangs.

"Yes," he looked over the menu before placing the rest of his order.

He subtly watched her as she puttered about, watched as she spoke to the orange haired kid at the counter and a black haired man who stuck his head out of another room and said something, causing Arisa to laugh and orange haired kid to scowl.

He was slightly distracted by the chime of the door opening and a purple haired guy walking into the shop. He walked over to the counter and they spoke to him for a moment before he disappeared into where the black haired man had gone into. Arisa turned and came over to him, Koreno's dinner held in her hands.

"So, how do you know Saki?" She asked, setting his food down and smiling as she waited for his answer.

"Well, that's an interesting story, if you have some time?" He asked, smile stretching unchecked across his face.

"Well I've got some time now, if you've got the time yourself?"

"Aren't you working?" He teased lightly, glancing over to the counter where there were two young men conversing, or rather, arguing.

"Nah, Yuki just got here so I'm free now." She grinned that small, shy smile again, looking at him bashfully.

"Well, have a seat then." He gestured to the seat across from him.

"Hey, Yuki, the usual please." Arisa called out to the purple haired guy who nodded to show he'd heard, though he didn't stop his argument with the orange head.

"So, how I met Saki, hey?" With that the two began talking and found they got alone very well.

'_I'll have to thank Saki when I see her again.'_ Koreno thought to himself as he listened to Arisa telling one of the stories about when she, Tohru and Saki had been at high school and some of the adventures they had experienced together.

They had been talking for a good half an hour when Arisa, who had glanced up at the sound of the door opening, suddenly raised a hand into the air as a large smile spread out over her face.

"Tohru! Come over here and meet Saki's friend."

Looking away from her for the first time since they had begun talking, Kazuma saw a brown haired woman walking over to them, a friendly – if slightly unsure – smile on her face.

"Tohru, this here is Koreno, the guy Saki was telling us to give a discount to. Koreno, this here is Tohru Honda, the owner of this awesome place." She said, enthusiasm for her friend clear in her voice.

"Hello," he said pleasantly.

"Oh, Hana's told me about you. She said you've known each other for a long time, at Grandpa Hanajima's temple, right?" She asked, her voice bubbly and full of enjoyment, though at what Koreno wasn't entirely sure.

"Yes, that's me." He still smiled none-the-less.

'_Strange girl, no wonder her and Saki get along so well.'_ He thought in private amusement.

"This is so exciting, I get to finally meat you! I'm so glad." Tohru held her hands clasped before her, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you too." Koreno felt an odd amount of pride at the delighted look on her face at his words.

"Is there anything else I can get you all?" A new voice asked. Looking around, Koreno saw the purple haired guy – Yuki – standing slightly behind Tohru. Although a smile was on his face, his eyes were cold as they stared at Koreno.

'_What's his problem?'_ Koreno wondered idly to himself. He was pretty sure he hadn't done anything to the guy, anything he was aware of anyway.

"No, I really should get going actually." Arisa said, her voice clearly disappointed as she shot him a look, causing Koreno to smile at her.

"Oh, already." Tohru sounded disappointed, her elation disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.

"Yeah, sorry Tohru. Don't worry though; I'll come by in a couple of days." She stood and hugged the other girl before turning to Koreno himself.

"It was great to meet you, Koreno." He grinned at her, loving the small blush that stained her cheeks as he did so.

"Yes, you too. I'm sure we'll see each other again." He promised, pleased when she looked happy about that before she turned and walked out the door.

"So, did you want anything?" Yuki asked again, eyes a little less cold now as they darted from the door, to him and then Tohru.

Putting the pieces together, Koreno mentally rolled his eyes. Typical, the guy liked Tohru and thought that Koreno himself did as well.

'_There's nothing going on there.'_ He thought to himself as he slowly stood up.

"No, thank you. It was lovely I must say, but I have to get going as well." He held out a hand to Tohru who shook it happily.

"It was lovely to meat you, Tohru. I'll be sure to tell my colleagues about this place and return myself soon."

"Oh, yes please do. It was nice to meet you, as well. I'll be sure to tell Hana you stopped by if you don't see her first." She promised happily.

Nodding to the guy behind her, Koreno took his leave; mentally wondering what Saki would say to his dating one of her friends.

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	5. 5 Rat's Observations

**Chapter Five – Rat's Observations**

The last three months had been some of the best of Yuki's entire life. Working at the Fruits Basket Café – Bookstore had proved to give him more than just a job. It became his favourite place to be, even when he wasn't working. The atmosphere there was always so friendly and welcoming. Though, he supposed, that was probably due to Tohru.

Tohru Honda, possibly the kindest, most giving person Yuki had ever had the pleasure of meeting. There was nothing that was too much trouble for the girl. While she was only twenty-four, she had managed to achieve her life-long dream already, to own the place. She was the best boss he had ever had.

Originally Yuki had only applied for the job out of curiosity to see if he would get it. He was studying medicine full time at Tokyo University, but he could always do with some extra cash in his pocket and waiting tables had seemed like a pretty easy way of doing it at the time. However, it was when he had walked into the interview room and seen her sitting there, almost more nervous then he was, that he had begun to think that maybe this was a really good idea, possibly one of the best he'd ever had.

She had fumbled about at the beginning, a pink blush steadily turning red the more embarrassed she got. It was endearing in a funny kind of way. Yet, once he had heard why she was so determined to succeed, Yuki had found himself wanting to help her achieve her goals, to make her mother proud even after death.

"Hey, Yuki, get that table over there would you?" Kyo called out, snapping him out of his thoughts, he looked over at the table the idiot was pointing at.

Yuki had known who Kyo was the moment he'd heard his name. There weren't many people who had such a violent reputation, along with such a long list of places that weren't willing to employ him. Yuki guesses that Tohru's normal good opinion of everyone was all that had really given him the job. He wondered quietly to himself what that interview had been like…

Since working with him, Yuki had been slightly surprised. Although Kyo did have a temper and he often yelled, when he did do something 'violent' it wasn't really all that hurtful. Sure, he hit Momiji over the head all the time, but it was more like a brotherly hit than a truly malicious action.

'_Besides,'_ Yuki thought dryly. _'If Kyo didn't do it then I'd end up doing it; that kid is exhausting to be around.' _

How Tohru got along with him so well was a complete mystery to him; although, that was probably one of her attributes that drew him to her.

Kyo's temper had simmered down noticeably in the three months Yuki had known him anyway. He suspected it was a combine effect of being around Tohru, who was such a sunny and gentle spirit to begin with, and Hastuharu, the quiet boy that was practically joined at the hip with Kyo. From what Yuki understood, or rather what Arisa had bluntly told him; Kyo liked Haru and was making an effort to be good around him so that he might notice him. She said that Haru already liked Kyo and was just enjoying watching Kyo squirm. When Yuki had asked why Haru didn't just tell Kyo he liked him, she had looked at him pointedly and asked him when he was planning on asking Tohru out.

Needless to say they hadn't spoken about Kyo and Haru's love life – or lack thereof – since.

Walking over to the customer, Yuki was silently thankful to get away from Momiji's constant chatter. The high school senior was in the shop practically every day for hours on end. Privately, Yuki wondered what was at home that he was trying to avoid so much.

Yuki knew what it was like to have a crappy home life. Ever since he was little his parents had been mounting the pressure on him to succeed, to come in first at everything, even if he had no interest in it. It didn't help that he had been naturally good at a lot of things, so those that he wasn't good at were very noticeable. Cooking, for example, he was rubbish at; he always liked the irony behind working in a café and not being able to cook…

It hadn't helped that his older brother by ten years, Ayame, had been exceptionally skilled in most things too. Of course, when Yuki was nine his brother had decided that he wanted to go into fashion, something that had succeeded in getting him kicked out of home by his horrified parents. That had only added to the pressures that were put on him, his parents trying to compensate for having a gay first son by having the perfect second son.

When he was younger he had fully blamed his older, flamboyant brother, who appeared to care for no one beside himself. However, it had been when he was thirteen that he saw his brother again, having not seen him since he had been kicked out. Yuki had been walking home after a cram class when he had seen someone leaning against a building on the street. He had a vague thought of danger before pushing it aside at the sight of silver coloured hair.

He'd only ever seen one person with hair that colour.

Yuki had been unable to do anything more then stare accusingly at the person who, in his eyes, had made his life a living hell. He hadn't spoken to Ayame that night, nor the next night when his brother had managed to find him again, or the night after that. It had gone on for a whole month, Ayame cornering Yuki on his way home, only to have Yuki completely ignore him for the entire time, no matter what Ayame said.

It wasn't until one night when Ayame didn't say anything, just walked with him in silence. There was something about that silence that had spoken to Yuki, made him suddenly desire his brother's company after so long alone. That night, as they walked to Yuki's parents house, Yuki had spoken for the first time.

"Will you be here tomorrow night?"

It was a simple sentence and for a moment Ayame had smiled at him, serious in every sense of the word, until it was over and he had gone back to being his usual stupid, over the top, loud self.

They had an odd relationship, with Ayame dropping in on Yuki whenever he was in town and Yuki always finding himself annoyed and exhausted with the visit only moments after it had begun. Usually Yuki ended up yelling at his brother and telling him to get lost, but Ayame always seemed to take everything he said with a grain of salt and would leave a card when he left saying he promised to come back again soon to see his 'darling younger brother'.

"Hi there, what can I get for you today?" Yuki smiled at the slightly familiar girl sitting at a table that was almost secluded from the rest due to its position. She was younger then him, probably still in high school from the looks of it. With long black hair and dark brown eyes that almost seemed black, her pale skin hinted at a fairly sheltered life.

"Um, just a coke." She said quietly.

"Sure thing… you're beginning to become something of a regular here, aren't you?" He asked, smiling in what he hoped was a friendly manner; however she just gave him an almost frightened look before staring determinedly at the tabletop.

Figuring she was just extremely shy he simply turned and went over to the counter.

"Will you just shut up!" Kyo yelled angrily beside him, reaching out to hit Momiji over the head but missing when the kid leaned away from him laughing.

"Aww, Yuki, Kyo's being mean to me." He whined, turning big blue eyes on him to no avail.

"Momiji, I'm pretty sure whatever it is you did was worthy of getting hit." Yuki said dryly, siding with Kyo on this and this alone. Normally they argued like cats and rats, but this was something they both agreed on.

"Come a little closer so I can reach you, you brat." Kyo snarled quietly, trying to reach further over the counter to the blond, only to have him stick his tongue out at him.

"You're such a bully Kyo. I don't know what Haru will say when I tell him you tried to hit me again." With a cheeky wink the kid skipped over to the table at the back of the shop where Haru was sitting with Tohru, the girl talking away happily.

"MOMIJI!" Kyo yelled, face-flushing red with embarrassment and anger.

"Don't worry, he won't actually say anything. Knowing Haru, he'll just agree with you on hitting the midget." Yuki off-handedly consoled the orange haired man.

"Sh-shut up!" Kyo snapped at him before grabbing a tray and stomping over to a recently vacated table that needed to be cleaned.

"Stop sniggering, you idiot." Yuki said quietly to Shigure who was lurking at the door to the kitchen like usual, delighting in the embarrassment of Kyo.

"Aww, Yuki you're such a party-pooper." He complained, but disappeared into the kitchen again anyway.

Rolling his eyes at the idiots he had to deal with on an almost daily basis, Yuki finished the drink and made his way back over to the shy girl.

"Here you are. Was there anything else I can get for you?" He asked politely.

"N-no, thank you." The manners were tacked on the end, her eyes trained on something else as she paid him little attention.

Curious, Yuki followed her train of sight and saw it rested on the table at the back of the shop where his friends were seated, talking loudly and laughing.

'_Maybe she knows someone there?'_ He thought to himself, however he remained silent when she showed no sign of acknowledging him. Turning he wandered back over to the counter, thoughts still on the mysterious girl in the corner.

"Yuki, come tell Momiji about what you learnt in class today. He thinks he knows more about medicine then you do!" Shigure suddenly called out. Looking over at him at the table, Yuki guessed he had snuck out of the kitchen – as he was prone to doing – and gravitated to the loudest area of the room like always.

Shaking his head, Yuki made to walk over to them; the customer knew to ring the bell at the counter if they really wanted anything. However he only managed a few steps when the chime suddenly sounded above the door, announcing the arrival of someone only half wanted.

"YUKI! My darling younger brother! Have you missed me?"

'_Just when I thought things were going well; this idiot turns up.'_


	6. 6 Snake's Story

Disclaimer: Character's are not mine.

* * *

**Chapter Six – Snake's Story**

The door closed with a resounding bang, leaving Ayame alone in the apartment, his apartment, his lonely apartment.

"Stupid idiot didn't know a good thing when he had it, anyway." He said determinedly, trying to be angry rather then sad.

He stomped over to his small pot of tea that had been abandoned in favour of his now ex-boyfriends arrival home and subsequent departure. Picking it up he flopped down into his usual too big seat – the perfect size for two to snuggle on – and had his tea; ignoring the fact that it was now stone cold and tasted disgusting.

Staring into nothing in the silent apartment, he slowly felt his rage leaving him, no matter how tightly he tried to hold onto it. It left him, just like he had…

Tears began to fall unchecked down his cheeks, silver eyes spilling over as the reality of what had just happened sunk into him. His lover for the past year had just up and left him for, of all people, a woman twice his age! Apparently they had already been seeing each other for two months behind Ayame's back. The bit that stung the most was that Ayame'd had no idea this was going on! He had been getting sympathetic looks this past week and he'd had no idea why. Apparently at a party he'd missed last week, Rikato had been seen snogging away with the whore.

Setting down his now empty cup, Ayame held his head in his hands, feeling that horrible feeling of worthlessness…

The first time he had felt like that was when he was ten years old and his brother had been born. With such a large age gap, Ayame hadn't wanted much to do with the little brat that was now taking up most of his parents spare time. He could no longer do as he wished because a baby couldn't do that too or it might not be suitable for a baby. It drove him nuts and, as a result, he rebelled quietly against his parents and despised his completely innocent little brother.

It continued building until he was eighteen and he'd finally snapped. Sickened with watching his parents fawn over the little eight-year-old Yuki, he had calmly stood at the dinner table, gaining their attention, as it was something he was not supposed to do; only common people did such a thing, his mother would say. Sure he now had their attention, he calmly stated that he was leaving, wished his parents an early grave and that he was gay.

In his parent's typically stupid manner, they focused completely on the fact that he was gay. While his mother had burst into tears when he had refused to take it back, his father had thundered that he was not to set foot under his roof until he had seen the 'error of his ways'. Needless to say, Ayame had been kicked out in a matter of minutes; not that he really cared as he was leaving anyway.

Over the next five years he had travelled the world, gaining more and more recognition for his fashion designs. However, he had found himself back in Japan one day. He had been wandering the familiar streets at night, just lost in memories of his past, when he had seen a familiar looking boy walking silently down the lonely streets. Shocked, Ayame realised he was looking at his little brother that he had left five years ago.

He was drawn immediately to the lonely figure, memories of his own childhood assaulting him after five years of ignoring them. When he had left it had never even crossed his mind what would happen to his baby brother now that he had disgraced the family name in almost every possible way. He could see the familiar exhaustion and loneliness reflected in his brothers purple coloured eyes and his heart clenched in both anger and guilt. He could imagine that all the pressures he had carted around with him before were now heaped doubly so on his brother.

He had spent the next few days secretly tailing Yuki, not letting him see Ayame until he'd had a chance to gather what kind of life his brother was leading. Needless to say, Ayame was sadly not disappointed.

Ayame had carefully planned out how he was going to go about telling his brother of his presence. It would be a grand thing; his baby brother was sure to be excited to see him and would no doubt jump into his open arms, crying tears of joy! He had been so swept up in imagining how the meeting would play out that Yuki noticed him before he realised it.

The reception he got from his little brother was nothing like what he had imagined. Yuki looked at him with nothing more then accusation and anger. It was clear that, no matter what Ayme had thought, Yuki blamed him for leaving. Held him responsible for how his life had turned out. Yuki didn't speak to him at all that first night.

In fact, it was a month of persistence on Ayame's part before anything changed. It was supposed to be the last night Ayame would be in town for a while, he was meant to be leaving for the north of Japan the next day. He had mostly given up on his brother ever forgiving him for something that, at the time he'd not given any thought to. He had gone to see Yuki just like normal, but he'd found that there were no words he could say or use that would make his little brother understand just how sorry he was. That old feeling of being worthless had haunted him for that whole walk in the lonely streets of Tokyo.

It was at the end of that walk, when they were almost at their parent's house, when Yuki stopped and turned to Ayame. Surprised, he had stopped as well and looked at the younger man in confusion; this was new.

"Will you be here tomorrow night?"

Those six words were the first ones he had said to Ayame since he was eight. It was one of those moments in Ayame's life that he would always treasure; a moment he would never forget.

At the time he had quickly agreed, saying of course he would be if his darling younger brother wanted him there, he'd be there.

As soon as he had gotten back to the hotel he had made a few quick phone calls and cancelled his plans for going north, this was much more important that his stupid job! He hadn't been very popular with a few people for cancelling on such short notice, but over time they had forgiven him and he was once again in their good books.

That monumental moment in Ayame's life had happened eleven years ago. While his brother wasn't apposed to talking to him, most of the time it was to tell him the shut up or to go away. Their relationship wasn't fantastic, though Ayame made sure to visit him every time he was in Japan and to send him regular e-mails to make sure he was still alive. Though he spoke to his brother, Ayame hadn't seen or spoken to his parents since that night when he was eighteen – he didn't regret it either.

Thinking of his brother, Ayame reached blindly into a pocket of his pants and pulled out his mobile. Pressing the speed dial for his assistant, Meme, a wonderful girl who would bend over backwards to help anyone, he raised the phone to his ear and waited.

It only took a few rings before her chipper voice answered.

"Hello, Ayame Nezumi-Hebi's PA, Meme speaking."

"Meme, I need a ticket to Tokyo on the earliest plane out." He tried to disguise the tears in his voice, but he wasn't sure how effective he was.

"Oh, um… well there's one at six in the morning." She said: the sound of her clicking away at a computer could be heard in the background.

"I'll take that one. Cancel anything else I have for at least the next week."

"Ayame, are you all right? Your brother's not hurt, is he?" She asked, concern colouring her voice. She was one of the few people who knew where his brother actually lived.

"He's fine, I just would like to spend some time with him. I've not been home for over a year, so…" He trailed off and allowed her to fill in the blanks with whatever she liked.

He doubted she'd know about Rikato's cheating ways' as she never listened to idle gossip.

"Ok, you're booked in first class tomorrow morning. I'm e-mailing the details to you know. Would you like a car there in the morning to take you?" She asked, helpful as always.

"No, I'll just grab a taxi, it'll be ok."

"Well, if that's all then sir?"

"Yes, yes it is…Meme?" he said softly, heart aching silently.

"Yes sir?"

"Thank you." Was all he said before snapping the phone closed and letting out a loud sigh.

Here he was, thirty-four and still crawling back to his hometown when something went wrong. It was pathetic.

'_I'm pathetic.'_

He allowed himself a moment longer to wallow in self-pity and heartache before pushing himself to his feet and beginning the packing process. It was already late at night, but he didn't really care, he could always sleep on the plane anyway.

As he packed he studiously ignored everything that was left behind by his now ex-lover and all the things that reminded Ayame of him were pushed to the side; to be dealt with later when it didn't hurt quite so much. Shoving nothing more than the bare essentials, Ayame grabbed his bag and made his way to the front of his apartment, opened the door and slammed it closed without a backwards glance.

'_Stupid Rikato, thinking he's better than me. I'll show him! I'm better then him and I'm better off without him!'_ Ayame snarled in his head; head held high as he made his way to the airport and towards his baby brother.

***()

When Ayame had first arrived in Tokyo he had gone to where his little brother's last known address was. He found his brother was apparently at work right now having gotten a new job recently. Thanking the delightful owner of the apartment complex, Ayame made his way to his brothers' job, following the directions the owner had given him.

He found the Fruits Basket Café – Bookstore to be a sweet looking little shop. Shoving the instructions into his pocket so no one would see them, he took a deep breath before throwing open the door and stepping grandly into the place.

"YUKI! My darling little brother! Have you missed me?" He called out loudly, arms held open awaiting the hug he knew wouldn't be coming.

"What are you doing here?" Yuki's voice came from behind the small counter. Looking over, Ayame was pleased to see that his little brother was looking just as healthy as he had been when he had last seen him. There was also something about him that seemed more alive then usual…

"That's no way to speak to me!" Ayame stepping into the place and began making his theatrical way over to his brother.

"I've come here just to see you, from the deepest and darkest of all horror filled places! You should be grovelling at my feet in thanks for the sight of me!" He pointed to his feet haughtily as he managed to stare down his nose at Yuki thanks to the height difference.

"Go back to those horror filled places, you're not wanted here." Yuki snapped back.

'_Blunt as ever, little brother.'_

"Yuki! As your older brother I order you to respect me!" Ayame tried out the big guns, sure it would work.

The murderous glare sent his way was enough to make him rethink his strategy.

The brotherly bonding moment was interrupted by an angry voice.

"Oi, this is a public café, go do you theatrics somewhere else!" An orange haired man yelled at him.

"Why I never, so rude!" Ayame crowed: his eyes widened dramatically to make him look very offended.

"You're the one who's being rude." Yuki spoke up, bringing Ayame's attention back to him.

"Yuki, how can you say such a thing!" Ayame asked, completely scandalized.

"Um, excuse me?" A quiet female voice called out, catching the attention over everyone.

"Sorry, but who are you?" She asked brown head tilting slightly like a curious dog.

'_Well, this is interesting.'_

"So, you're Ayame Nezumi-Hebi, Yuki's older brother?" Tohru confirmed once introductions had been made, a cup of green tea placed in front of Ayame and a calming hand by Haru on Kyo's shoulder to prevent him from strangling the silver haired man.

"Yes, I am. I'm afraid I've been away for longer than usual. I normally make time to visit every couple of months, but time flies when you're having fun!" Ayame forced out a loud laugh, though inside he felt a pang of sadness.

'_Even if that happiness was destroyed by a good-for-nothing bastard.'_ He kept his saddening thoughts to himself and focused on the here and now.

"What are you doing here?" Yuki repeated his previous question, frown firmly in place.

"Why, I'm here for you, my darling little brother. Don't act so shy, come and give you're big brother a hug!" He held out his hands, but Yuki merely stonewalled him with his glare.

"Now, Yuki, you should be happy to see your brother." Shigure spoke up with a would-be sincere smile on his face. "He sounds like he's come a long way just to see you." Some kind of mischievousness twinkled in his dark eyes, a mischievousness Ayame could relate to.

'_A comrade in arms!'_

"Yes, Yuki listen to Shigure, he's older and wiser then you." Ayame said, nodding along with his own words.

"He's as much of an idiot as you are." Yuki responded blandly, causing Shigure to give him a theatrically insulted look that Ayame was able to imitate perfectly.

"I feel so sorry for you to have to work with someone so cold hearted on a day-to-day basis." Ayame said attention now fully focused on Shigure.

"No, I feel sorry for you having to have this ice prince as a brother!" Before anyone could stop them or comment on it, Ayame had jumped to his feet, as did Shigure and they launched themselves at each other, holding hand tightly before them they looked into each others eyes.

"My strong willed brother in arms!"

"Your strength gives me strength!"

"Mon amore!"

"Ma-sheri!"

"Shut up!" Kyo finally exploded, unable to take any more of their playful bantering.

"Kyo, you're such a bore." Shigure pulled away from his new friend and pouted playfully at the orange head.

"Yes, very boring." Ayame agreed.

"Brother." Yuki spoke up, a hint of exasperation colouring his voice. "Please tell me, what are you doing here?"

'_Well, when he asks like that…'_

"I heard you got a new job and I wanted to come and check up on you. Besides, I really have missed you." Ayame said truthfully.

There was a beat of silence as Ayame started at Yuki who looked back at him with an unreadable look on his face. It was one that Ayame was painfully familiar with.

"Oh!" Tohru suddenly exclaimed, hands clasping before her. "Look at the time. I need to shut up the shop." She quickly scrambled to her feet.

"Here, I'll help you." Haru said standing up.

"Oh, no you don't need to…" Tohru trailed off as the two-tone haired man began flipping the chairs onto the tabletops so that they could mop.

"I'll grab the mop." Kyo offered and before Ayame knew it he was watching the two young men as they worked in sync together.

'_Young love.'_ Ayame thought absentmindedly to himself with a small wistful feeling about him.

"Yuki, if you like you could leave now so you can spend some more time with your brother." Tohru offered him a big smile and Ayame's eyes widened at the obvious blush colouring Yuki's cheeks at the close proximity of Tohru.

'_Well, well, little brother. Somebody's got a crush.'_ He sang happily in his head.

"Ah, are you sure you don't need my help with the clean up?"

"No, with Haru helping I'm sure we'll get it done in no time." While Tohru's smile was completely honest, Ayame wasn't sure where she was getting that idea.

Looking over at Haru and Kyo who had seemed to be working fine just a moment ago, they now seemed to be squabbling about Haru not putting the chairs up in the right order for Kyo to mop the floor. Ayame privately doubted they'd be getting much work done any time soon. From the look on Yuki's face, he was thinking the same thing.

"Well, if you're sure, Tohru." Yuki stood, Ayame quickly standing himself.

"We'll leave you to it then."

"Yes, goodbye Yuki's friends!" Ayame said, waving grandly as if he was some kind of royalty.

"Oh! Goodbye Ayame, it was nice to meat you!" Tohru said quickly, a large and sincere smile on her face.

"See you later, Aya." Shigure winked at him, mischievous as always.

"Till next time, Gure." Ayame winked back at him, thoroughly enjoying the groans that came from Yuki and Kyo, the later of which unable to not hear their conversation at they were practically yelling at one another.

The two brothers' exited the café – bookstore in silence as Ayame followed Yuki towards his apartment. They had walked a block before Yuki finally spoke.

"How did you find my work?"

"Oh! Your delightful landlord gave me directions." Ayame said happily, amused to note the darkening of his little brother's eyes.

'_He's probably imagining how he could torture the poor man for giving out his personal information without his permission.' _

"I wasn't expecting to see you again for some while." Yuki spoke softly, but there was an undertone of curiosity.

"Well, things change." Ayame said, sadness tinging his voice as his thoughts wandered to yesterday's disaster.

"What happened to what's-his-face; Rikato, was it?" Yuki asked, glancing at him when he took a moment before responding.

"We broke up." Ayame said softly, not sure if his brother had even heard him or not.

When they continued walking for another block Ayame was sure his brother hadn't heard him. It wasn't until they were almost at Yuki's home that he spoke again.

"I'm sorry to hear that… Don't worry though, you still have me." Ayame stoped in his tracks and looked at the young man next to him, no longer the little kid that needed him to look after him and take him places. He had grown up right before his eyes and he had only just begun to get to know the incredible person that was his younger brother.

Ayame smiled softly as his brother continued down the street, pretending he'd not said anything.

"Well of course I have you!" Ayame said, running up to his brother and slinging an arm around his shoulder and messing his hair.

"GET OFF!" Yuki yelled, but Ayame just laughed loudly as he was pushed away, Yuki taking off down the street to his apartment in the hopes of locking Ayame out of it.

"Yuki! Wait for me, my darling little brother! We can stay up late sharing stories and eating instant ramen." Ayame said excitedly, running to catch up to him.

'_Thank you, Yuki; you always know what to say just when I need to hear it.'_


	7. 7 Monkey's Dilemma

Disclaimer - Character's aren't my own.

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**Chapter Seven – Monkey's Dilemma**

"T-thank you, have a nice day!" Ritsu Saru called out to the couple leaving the Bath House.

He relaxed slightly as the two left, the woman giggling at something the man had said, arms wrapped around one another as they walked through the door.

He let out a small, wistful sigh at the now empty reception area. What he wouldn't give to have someone love him like that, to be able to go to the Bath House together, to hold someone as he fell asleep…

'_I'm not worthy of such affection.'_

Feeling the usual misery engulf him, Ritsu rearranged the collection of pens on the counter.

For as long as he could remember, he had always been this way. He had felt since he was a young child that he wasn't good enough for the simple pleasures that everyone else experienced. His parents had always been apologising for his shortcomings. He had thought it normal until his father had died when he was ten. For the next nine years he had watched his mother slowly deteriorate, not knowing what he could do to make her better. It had been on his eighteenth birthday that she had finally been admitted to a mental institution for paranoia. Ever since then he had been living by himself and working at the Bath House his parents had once managed together.

He was so useless that the only reason he had been able to keep the Bath House going for the last four years was because he'd had help from his uncle. Although, from the looks he always received his uncle was only doing it because he felt slightly indebted to his departed parents, he clearly didn't like Ritsu himself.

"See you later, Ritsu!" A cheery female voice called out to him, startling him so much that he knocked a small container of soaps off the desk and all over the floor.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'm so clumsy that I knocked that container off the desk, I'm sorry." Humiliated, he immediately bent down and began to pick up the soaps, eyes firmly downcast in shame.

"It's alright Ritsu. I shouldn't have startled you!" A young woman walked over to him and, although he didn't look up, he knew she had long black hair and pretty, kind brown eyes. Kagure Inoshishi was the only person who always made it a point to talk to him.

'_She's always been so kind to me, even if I did nothing to deserve it.'_

"No, it was my fault. I'm sorry." He insisted.

He was completely distracted from all thoughts of embarrassment as the worst possible thing that could happen did.

As Ritsu was reaching for the last of the soaps, a pale, feminine had reached for it at the same time. In the brief moment all Ritsu could think about was the softness of her hand and how it was still slightly warm from being in the bath rooms'. Wrenching his hand away as if burned he looked up at her with big eyes, hand clutched to his chest in horror.

"I-I'm SORRY!" He cried out the last bit and before she could do anything he ran behind the counter and through the staff door, slamming it closed before he could hear anything from her.

'_I'm sorry, so sorry! I didn't mean to, I'm sorry I touched you with my inferior hands, my filthy hands. And just after you'd had a bath too! I should reimburse her for sullying her nice, soft, clean hands!' _

Opening the door slightly, he peeked out only to see the reception room empty. Gathering his courage he slipped back into the room behind the counter, hand still clasped to his chest. Looking around carefully, he could see that the soap container hand been placed back on the counter in its home.

Sighing loudly to himself, he allowed himself to relax again, just a little bit. He would have to apologise tomorrow night when she came back for her bath, as she did every night.

Looking down sheepishly at his hand, he could still feel a small tingling sensation from where his fingertips had touched her hand.

'_It feels… nice.' _

Shaking his head she pushed those thoughts away. Kagura was much too good for the likes of him. He was nothing and never would be anything except a blight upon the face of the earth.

Lowering his head, he blinked back the urge to cry and went about straitening up the fliers on the small side table next to the front desk. Customers could bring in fliers to advertise things from restaurants to pets for sale.

As he moved a pile of papers advertising a massage parlour down the street, he fond a brightly coloured flier for a café – bookstore that had only opened up three months ago.

"Fruits Basket?" He whispered the name to himself.

'_It might be nice to go somewhere different, for a change…' _

Glancing over at the soap container he took in a deep breath. If he went tomorrow night then he wouldn't have to see Kagura and be so embarrassed. He could leave instructions for her to have a free bath as an apology, but he wouldn't have to face her himself.

'_I'm so pathetic, going to a café for dinner just to avoid someone so wonderful.' _Mournfully, he looked back at the flier and pocketed it so that he'd have the address.

***()

His Uncle hadn't even batted an eye when Ritsu had told him he wouldn't be able to work that night. It was both a blessing and a curse that his Uncle hated him so.

'_Though I don't blame him, I'd hate me too if I was all I had left to call family.'_

Walking into the cafe, Ritsu allowed a small smile at the adorable sounding chime that went off when he entered through the door. Looking around, he was surprised to find that the place was only half-full. A few couples were seated up near the front of the store while a large group was loudly laughing at the back of the place.

Walking quietly to a small table in the middle of the room, he was pleased to find only one other person was very near him. She looked like she was young enough to still be in high school and, although she had a coke and a book open in front of her, he could see she was more interested in peeking over the book through her dark hair to look at the loud group at the back.

Vaguely he wondered if she was annoyed by the noise they were making, but he was distracted by the arrival of a waitress.

"Hello, welcome to Fruits Basket Café – bookstore; are you a first timer?" Looking up he saw it was a woman about his own age with brown hair, brown eyes and a friendly smile.

"Oh! Um, yes, I mean, yes it is the first time I've been here. I'm sorry, I should have come before." The words spilled out of his mouth as his nerves reached an all time high.

A burning blush of embarrassment washed across his cheeks and he bowed his head, ready for the harsh words and pointed laughing that always followed.

"You've been meaning to come before? Well, at least you've come now. I'm so happy to hear you've decided to come here for dinner!" He looked up in shock and was speechless at the sincere smile of joy on her face.

It seamed that she really was pleased he had come here and she didn't sound at all angry that the place had been open for months and this was the first time he was coming.

"So, what can I get for you?" She asked, pen held ready above her small pad of paper.

Fumbling, he quickly picked something for dinner and a drink before she nodded and wandered off to the counter. Looking around and feeling slightly out of place, he fiddled with a small packet of sugar while he waited for his meal to arrive.

"Here you go." The waitress was back as she placed a glass of juice before him gently.

"Oh, thank you." He said quickly looking up at her before looking back down at the table's surface.

"It's no problem at all! I'm just so happy that you're here."

"Oh no, please, it's-"

As he was speaking he didn't notice that his arms had been waving around as they generally did when he was getting nervous. One of his arms had been waving around a little too much and knocked into his glass.

Looking over in horror, Ritsu watched – as if in slow motion – as the glass fell off the table and tumbled towards the ground. It shattered upon the ground and the liquid quickly spread out across the floor with the shards of glass.

Silence filled the shop before Ritsu jumped to his feet, so horrified he didn't know what to do with himself.

"Oh my God! I'm sorry, I'M SO SORRY! Please, forgive me, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault!" His hysterics was cut of by a suddenly pressure on his side and he felt his muscles give out. He was sure he was going to hit the floor when arms wrapped around him and pulled him up.

He listened half-heartedly as people moved around, calling out that it was all ok.

"Sorry about that folks, my friend here's just a little up-set today. Nothing to see here." He was carried to the counter and then behind it, into a side room that appeared to be a kitchen area.

'_I'm so pathetic, I wish I could just die.'_ Ritsu thought pitifully to himself as he was deposited on a small stool in a corner. Looking up miserably he saw a black haired man he could remember seeing at the large table of people earlier on.

"There, is that better now?" He asked, smile not unkind.

"Yes, thank you." Ritsu said quietly, eyes back on the floor as shame ate at his stomach like acid.

"Here you are, this will calm you down." The waitress said, holding out a small, steaming cup of peppermint tea.

"Thank you." He murmured once again.

"I'm Tohru, by the way; Tohru Honda" The girl smiled that friendly smile again and Ritsu found himself relaxing. There was just something about this girl that made him feel better about himself.

"R-Ritsu, Ritsu Saru" He said quietly.

"Well, it's nice to have you here, Ritsu." She smiled and tilted her head to the side slightly, similar to that of a dog.

Ritsu felt a small smile slowly appearing on his face as he looked at the cute girl who made him feel so relaxed.

"I'm Shigure!" He looked over at the black haired man beside Tohru and nodded his head silently.

"That was quite a scene you pulled just before." Shigure said, immediately destroying the feeling of calmness that had overcome him while only focusing on Tohru.

"I'm sorry!" He exclaimed, going to stand up only to have Shigure push him back into the stool.

'_I'm so pathetic, I shouldn't be allowed to live.'_ He thought miserably, taking a sip of his drink.

"Don't worry about the glass, it happens to the best of us." Tohru said gently, hand resting on his shoulder comfortingly.

He looked up at her with wide, surprised eyes.

'_She's so nice.'_

He bowed his head, feeling tears coming on for the second time in two days. How was it someone could be nice to such a worthless person like him?

"Oh, it's ok." Tohru said, pulling out a tissue and holding it out to him.

"I'm sorry," he looked up at her through watery eyes. "I'm so sorry to be so much trouble. I'm away trouble, no matter what I do or how I try to help. It always happens… Sometimes I just wish I hadn't been born, then I wouldn't cause people so many problems." He smiled humourlessly at the silent kitchen.

"No," he looked up at the sound of her quiet voice. " No, please don't say that. Everyone deserves to live, everyone is special in their own way." Her big brown eyes were full of tears and her face was only inches from her own as she looked down at him.

'_She's so nice, just like-'_

"Kagura." The name slipped from his lips without his consent.

"Um, no, Tohru." She said pointing at herself.

"Oh, no I mean, um, you remind me of her. She very nice and, well, you are too." He trailed off at the end, hands cupping his tea protectively.

"Oh! Is she your girlfriend?" Torhu asked, a playful smile on her face.

"NO!" Ritsu jumped to his feet in panic and embarrassment. He noted that no one pushed him back down as Shigure had apparently left some time when they had been talking.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just thought she might be with how you looked when you said her name…" Tohru apologised.

"No, she's not my girlfriend, but," he bit his lip, not sure why he was spouting all this off to a stranger. There was just something about her that made him feel comfortable and able to speak freely.

"Oh, you like her." Tohru guessed, causing Ritsu to blush and bow his head bashfully.

"Well, have you told her you like her?" Tohru asked, a big smile on her face.

"No, she'd never like someone like me." Dejection was clear in his voice.

"Don't say that, I've only known you for a half an hour, but I already think you're wonderful." Tohru said, causing Ritsu's head to snap up in shock.

'_Wonderful…'_

"Come on Ritsu, let's go get your dinner and we'll think of a way you can confess your feelings at the same time." Tohru said enthusiastically, looking more like a high schooler then a businesswoman. She reached out and took his hand gently before leading him out of the kitchen, past the counter and over to a new table, closer to the back of the shop and the rowdy group of people who were still going.

"There you are Tohru! We thought you'd left us." A blond haired woman called out from the rowdy table.

"Who's you're friend?" A black haired woman next to her asked quietly, but her voice seemed to come from just beside his ear.

"Oh, this is Ritsu, I'm just helping him out that's all. I'll be over again later." Tohru sent them her happy smile before turning to an orange haired guy who seemed to only be paying half of his attention to Tohru and the other half to the man next to him.

"Kyo, I'm sorry, but could you mind the floor for a bit, I've got something I need to do." Tohru just smiled as the guy grumbled as he pulled himself to his feet.

"This is your place, why is it you never seem to be working?" He growled as he passed by, only to bit hit in the head by a thrown tea towel.

"It's your job, now shut up and do it." A purple haired waiter snapped before turning back to the table he was cleaning.

"Stupid bastard." Was all reply he got.

"Here, Ritsu." Tohru said, placing his previous plate of dinner before him.

"Oh! Thank you, but, you know you don't have to do this." He said quietly.

'_I'm not really worth all the effort.'_

"Ritsu, I'd do this for any of my friends, what makes you any different?"

"F-f-friend?" The word was foreign on his tongue; he'd never really had one of them before.

"Oh course." She just smiled.

The two sat there for the remainder of his dinner, her suggesting different ways he could reveal his feelings for Kagura and him slowly learning little things about her.

It was to the sound of loud laughing coming from Tohru's friends table that she got a brainwave.

"Oh, I know what you could do, Ritsu!" She exclaimed. "Why not bring her here! You know someone here so I could help you out in anything you might need and it'd be a nice, relaxed atmosphere. It'd be perfect!" She clapped her hands before her; brown eyes alight with excitement at the idea of someone having their first date with the person they loved at her little shop.

"Um, are you sure?" He asked, nervous but also wishing for something like that.

"Yes, oh, here you are." She got up and grabbed something from the counter before returning and handing it to him as he stood up. She handed him a familiar looking flier, only this one was in pink rather then the yellow his had been in.

"Show this to her and invite her to come along, you'll have great fun and I'll even give you both a discount." Tohru gave him a big smile as he took the paper from her.

"O-ok, I will." He said, hoping that he really would be able to summon the courage to do such a thing.

"Wonderful, I'm sure I'll see you soon then." She said as he began making his way to the door.

"Uh, y-yes, I'll come back soon." He said over his shoulder as he opened the door and sounded the cute little chime above the door. With a small wave to the lovely storeowner, he exited the store.

***()

Standing behind the counter in the reception area of the Bath House the next day, Ritsu took a steadying breath as his fingers brushed over his pocket for the fifth time this minute to make sure that the flier was still there. He had been waiting patiently for Kagura to finish her bath and come through here to go home.

When he saw her, he would greet her warmly and then casually say that his friend – he still wasn't used to that word at all – had given him a flier to their café – bookstore and he wondered if she'd like to go with him? It was that simple!

'_I can do this!'_ He thought, feeling only a tiny bit confident but trying to talk himself into it anyway.

The sound of material moving alerted him to someone coming into the reception area and he felt himself freeze at the sight of the woman he loved. She looked just as beautiful as always, still flushed from being in the baths and her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, exposing her long neck.

'_She's so beautiful.'_

"Hey, Ritsu! I missed you yesterday!" She exclaimed, waving a hand in greeting even as she walked over to him.

"Um, y-yeah, I had something I w-wanted to check out."

"Oh, I was afraid something had happed to you or something." She gave him a soft smile as she stood on the other side of the counter to him.

He brushed his hand across his pocket where the flier was again; finger's trembling too much for him to get it out.

"N-no, I'm fine. B-but thank you for worrying about m-me." He felt a blush beginning to cover his cheeks and his eyes wandered down to the counter top as always.

"Well, I'm happy to hear that." He didn't look up at her as the silence became awkward between them.

Finally, he took a deep breath and, eyes still locked on the counter top, began speaking.

"Uh, K-kagura, I ah, I know it's um, well." His tongue just didn't seem able to speak the words he had in his head; it kept tripping up.

"Take a deep breath, Ritsu." Kagura said, not unkindly.

He took her advice and then made the mistake of glancing up at her. Big brown eyes were looking at him, their whole attention completely focused on him.

'_Oh no.'_

"I just wanted to say, t-thank you for w-worrying about m-me. Again." He blushed as shame ate away at his stomach.

'_I'm such a loser.'_

"Oh, it was no problem at all." She said, though her shoulders had dropped slightly for some reason.

"Well, I'll see you next time, then." She said, turning and leaving the Bath House, just like she did every evening.

Once the reception area was empty, Ritsu pulled out the flier from his pocket. Looking at the cheerful pink paper he sighed quietly to himself and walked over to the customer notice area, where he had originally found it in the first place. Unfolding it, he placed it on the small table with all the rest.

'_It's not fair! But, I shouldn't expect anything better anyway…'_

He turned away.

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Please Review.


	8. 8 Rabbit's Secrets

Disclaimer - Character's are not mine.

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**Chapter Eight – Rabbit's Secrets**

Throwing the door open, Momiji ran from the house as fast as his feet could take him. The screaming and yelling still echoed in his ears as he ran, making him push himself even more, trying to out-run the cruel words that were thrown back and forwards.

'_Did they even care I was standing there?'_ He thought, desperation filling him along with the cold feeling of dread.

He needed somewhere safe, somewhere he didn't feel like he was drowning with nothing to help him stay afloat. He needed somewhere he didn't have to pretend; somewhere he wasn't just the happy kid who never stopped talking.

He needed the café.

Running as fast as he could, he didn't even stop to apologise when he bumped into someone, though the black haired girl called out for him to be careful.

He ran until he found himself turning into the door, pushing it open and ignoring the chime from above the door, he looked up, cheeks flushed and chest heaving with breath. It was still relatively early in the morning, Fruits Basket having been open for only a few minutes by the look of things.

"Momiji?" Tohru's voice came from the counter as she walked around it and towards him in confusion.

Without any other thought then being near the woman who always seemed to understand, Momiji threw himself at her and encircled her waist with his arms, head resting on her shoulder as he screwed his eyes shut. There was a moment where he felt nothing except the softness of her body in his arms and the ragged breathing from his mouth, before she moved. Her arms came up around him and captured him in her arms protectively.

"It's ok, it's alright Momiji, just cry it all out." She said soothingly.

It was at her words that he realised he had tears streaming down his cheeks unchecked. Once he'd acknowledged them, great sobs ripped from deep in his chest, his arms tightened around her as his knees gave out and they sunk to the floor.

He cried for his perfect home life that had been destroyed by his very own parents. The arguing and screaming between them was the only thing that came from them these days. The divorce that was happening between them was anything but nice and it was threatening everything he'd ever known for the last seventeen years.

He cried for his little sister, she was only twelve and didn't deserve this wretched situation that had been forced upon her. His mother would take her away, back to Germany; she had made that point very clear to his father. He would not see his darling little sister again for a long time when that happened.

He cried for the fake smiles and cheerful persona he had to put on at school, at home, everywhere all the time. He felt exhausted because of it. He hated pretending to be happy when all he wanted to do was scream and rage at the unfairness of the world.

'_I just want it to all end, to go back to how it used to be.'_

He didn't know how long they sat there, Tohru holding him as he cried. But it must have been for a long time as when he finally calmed down to just the occasional hic-up his legs had gone numb. However, her hold on him was still just as tight as it had been when she had first hugged him. It had never faulted.

"'M sorry." He whispered, throat sore and head beginning to pound thanks to the tears.

She pulled back slightly, so she could just see his eyes, but her arms remained around him. Looking into her warm, chocolate eyes, Momiji could see nothing but love reflected.

"There's nothing to be sorry for, Momiji. We all just need a hug and a good cry sometimes. It's nothing you should feel sorry for." She then smiled that friendly smile that never failed to make him feel like he was loved.

Tohru Honda was one of a kind, he had known it the very first time he had met her and she had just smiled and talked away to him like their were old friends. She had opened up his world and allowed him to come to his one safe haven whenever he liked. She never got angry with him for staying past close, or being there first thing in the morning. She introduced him to all her friends, made sure he was happy and there was never anything that was too much trouble. He was allowed to treat her café as his playground and she always allowed him to play to his heart content.

He really, truly, loved Tohru. She was so wonderful and kind, just like he had always wished to have someone in his life be. She reminded him of his little sister, Momo. She too was very kind and always putting others before herself. She was a little blond haired angel sent from heaven to brighten up his life. Tohru was the same; she was an angel. He had always wished he'd had a big sister and in Tohru he'd found that.

"Still, I'm sorry." He whispered. He started slightly at the sight of a glass of water appearing before his face. Following the hand, up the arm he saw Yuki smiling down at him.

"This will help your throat." Was all he said.

Nodding, Momiji released Tohru and took the glass, finally taking note of his surroundings. The place was still empty save for Yuki, Tohru and Shigure, the later of which was sitting on the counter watching him with a small smile on his face. Glancing at the door he saw that the open sign had been flipped around to say closed.

Looking at the floor he silently took a sip of his water.

"Here, let's go into the back while Yuki and Shigure finished opening up the shop." Tohru said, getting to her feet and then holding out a hand for him to do the same.

Taking it, he didn't say anything as she led him by the hand around the counter and into the kitchen. Sitting him down on the stool in the corner, she then went about preparing a sandwich.

She didn't say anything, just hummed tunelessly under her breath; acting like this was all completely normal.

"It's my parents." He finally said, staring fixatedly at the half-full glass in his hands. Though she didn't stop moving, the humming stopped.

"They're getting a divorce, they absolutely hate each other." He smiled bitterly. "It wasn't always that way, of course. But my mum, she's German you see and, well, she wants to take my little sister and go back to Germany with her. I wouldn't get to see her again for a long time, if she did that. Momo's only twelve; it's not fair on her at all. Having them fighting right in front of her isn't something she should have to see."

"It's just, so hard so smile and pretend that everything's ok…" He let out an exhausted sigh.

"It's not fair on you, either." Tohru spoke softly, causing him to look up slowly. She was still fiddling with the sandwich, but her attention was clearly on him.

"They shouldn't fight in front of you, it's hurtful. Though, I know it may not feel like it, but they both do still love you. It's just that anger makes us do stupid things." She put the sandwich in the toaster and began cleaning the utensils she had used.

"Your mum may move to Germany with your sister, there may be nothing you can do about it. Life's not always fair or easy. But it doesn't mean you'll never see her again and you can keep in contact with her through emails, web cams and phone calls. When you finish school you could even go visit her if you save up enough and get a part-time job." She shot him a small smile as she dried off a knife.

"Just because it feels like it's the end of the world, doesn't actually mean it is. I know it's horrible, but it's true." She pulled the now toasted sandwich out of the machine and put it on a plate, cutting it into quarters.

"You'll still have all of us here who love you, no matter what. And we're not planning on going anywhere." She held out the plate to him with a large smile, unconditional sisterly love shinning in her eyes.

Eyes sinning again with tears, Momiji managed a smile as he accepted the plate from her.

'_Thank you, Tohru.'_

Momiji spent the rest of the morning at the café, occasionally helping out when it got really busy as Kyo had the morning off. That meant that Haru wasn't around either so Momiji had no one to tease until they turned up after lunch. Ayame didn't show either as Yuki had managed to convince him that he should actually call his PA and talk to her about what the hell he was actually doing in Tokyo. Arisa turned up about two hours after Momiji had arrived and was happy to entertain him with stories of when she had been a full-on Yankee 'back in the day'.

However, no matter how much he tried, his thoughts kept straying back to his parents impending divorce and the loss of his sister. He didn't even argue with Kyo when he wandered in and welcomed him with his normal insult; Haru hot on his heels as they walked inside.

Momiji had pulled the stool out of the kitchen area and was sitting at the counter like one would at a bar so that he was close to the action and where Shigure was to talk too. He didn't pay much attention to Haru as he pulled a small table next to him and sat down in the chair across from him before pulling over the menu and calling out for Kyo to bring him a milkshake.

While Tohru's words had made him feel a little bit better, they'd both known that it wasn't going to change the very real fact that he was going to lose both his mother and sister when the divorce was finalised. While he loved his father, his family wasn't the same without the two women who brought the sun into his life. But, he couldn't leave his father all alone; he was already losing a wife and child, he didn't need to loose everything.

Looking moodily around the café he was slightly surprised when he saw a young girl around his own age sitting alone as she looked at him from a small, slightly hidden table for two. Her long black hair was slightly familiar and the more he looked at her the more he was sure he knew her from somewhere. It was as she sifted, looking away from him, that he realised where he knew her.

Rin Uma was one of the girls in his class at school. From the little that he knew about her, she lived by herself and was sponsored by the school because of something, no one was quite sure what. She was an average student and kept to herself all the time.

"That your girlfriend?" Kyo suddenly asked, causing Momiji to swing around on his stool and see the orange haired man's face right in front of him. Leaning back slightly to put some space between them, he frowned.

"No, it's not, Kyo. She's just a girl I go to school with." Momiji said quietly.

Kyo just smirked as he leaned on the counter, careless of the milkshake for Haru next to him, waiting to be delivered.

"Hmm, sure she is." He leaned back slightly, before in a sing-song voice he said:

"Momiji has a girl-friend!"

Glaring at him as his cheeks flushed red, Momiji did some quick thinking before smiling innocently at Kyo.

"HARU! KYO WANTS YOU!" He called out before jumping off his stool as Kyo lunged across the counter for him, hands just missing the back of his shirt as he ran for the safety of Tohru who was sitting down having her lunch break.

"MOMIJI! You little bastard, get back here so I can strangle you!" Kyo yelled out, moving to scramble over the counter top only to be stopped by Haru standing in his way.

"Thanks for the drink, Kyo." Was all his said in his usual bland voice; reaching out and taking his milkshake from the counter and taking a sip, Kyo merely slumped in humiliated defeat on the counter.

"Momiji, I don't really think that you should be doing that." Tohru said quietly as she looked at the pair at the counter.

"They're fine; besides, Kyo needs a bit of a shove in the right direction or he'll never doing anything." Momijo said, acting older then he usually did.

'_They'll run out of time if they're not careful.'_

"They should go for it while they both know that they like each other, otherwise they might miss out…" He said softly.

An arm around his shoulder made him turn slightly and offer her a half smile.

"You'll get through this, I promise." Tohru whispered to him.

'_I'll hold you to that promise, Tohru.'_


	9. 9 Dog's Love

Disclaimer - Character's are not my own.

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**Chapter Nine – Dog****'s Love**

"See you later, Shigure!" Tohru called out as she stacked chairs with Yuki. Kyo was mopping the floor as Haru sat on the counter top watching him.

"Yes, see you tomorrow." Shigure called back to them all as he opened the door to the chime and left.

Shoving his hands into his pockets he slowly wandered down the quiet streets towards his home. A lot had changed since he had started working for Fruits Basket and, although a lot of it was good, he still didn't find himself truly happy.

He let out a loud sigh into the cool air before looking up at the murky sky, pollution clouding over the brilliant stars he had once seen in an open field with the love of his life many years ago. He could still remember the faint scent of jasmine that came from her hair as the wind blew it about. Her dark eyes had reflected the millions of stars above them like an endless ocean and her pale lips had lifted in a soft smile that outshone all those glorious stars.

He was still thinking about her when his mobile suddenly began vibrating and a tune filled the air. Grabbing hold of it in his pocket, he pulled it out and checked the caller ID, eyes widening in slight surprise at the name.

Flipping it open he raised it to his ear and spoke, feeling like a high school kid at the nervous butterflies that had began waltzing around in his gut.

"Hello, Akito." He said softly as he continued walking, not stopping on his way home.

"Shigure, it's been a while. How are you?" Her voice was just as he remembered it, soft yet slightly demanding with every word.

"I've been good, yourself?" He asked politely, though in truth he'd like nothing more then to ask her where the hell she had been for the past three years.

"Oh, I'm fine. What are you up to now?"

"I'm working at a café right now, before that I was doing market research. What about you, it's been three years remember." His voice became slightly cold at the end, a frown on his face as he stopped before his building.

"I know it's been a while; I've been up to this and that. Nothing all that interesting."

'_So you're ringing because you're bored, why am I not surprised?'_ He thought, snorting to himself.

"So what's with the random phone call out of the blue?" He asked, pulling out his keys and putting one into the lock to his door.

"I thought you might like to hear from me?" Her voice wasn't defensive, merely bland like she was stating an irrefutable fact.

"What makes you think I haven't moved on with my life?" He asked, already knowing the answer, as it was an old game they were playing right now.

"Because I know you, better then anyone. You wouldn't move on, you like the game as much as I do." She said, completely sure of herself.

Sometimes he wished she didn't know him so well. Considering they'd only seen one another a few times in the last decade or so, it was sad at how little they had both changed. Still, he liked to imagine that one day she would ring and he would be content and happy with someone and would no longer need to play her games.

'_That would only work if I figured out how to fall out of love with her.'_ The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Are you still in Tokyo?" She asked, taking his silence as acceptance of the truth.

"Yes, where are you?" He asked, knowing she wouldn't give him a straight answer.

"Around." Not a proper answer, he'd expected no less.

"Was there a reason you rang?" He asked dryly as he pushed off his shoes and walked more into his home.

"Just thought I'd tell you I still don't forgive you." She said in that soft yet demanding tone that only she could pull off without sounding like a bitch.

He supposed to the casual observer it would sound as if there was a lot of animosity and hatred going on between them, however they didn't know the whole story, the truth behind Shigure and Akito.

They had met when they were in their last year of middle school. It had been a chance encounter with Akito sitting on a low wall smoking and Shigure walking along after yelling to his parents that he hated them. He had seen her smoking and, knowing his parents hated it, had asked if she had another cigarette. She hadn't had another, but she'd shared her own with him. They'd gone their own ways after that one cigarette, neither expecting to see the other anytime again soon, until they'd started high school and realised that they were going to the same one.

It was from that point on that the two had began skipping school together, smoking behind the toilets or in the locker rooms and drinking whenever they felt like it. Half the time they never even made it home and they'd end up going to school hung over, reeking of last night's party.

They were two teens going nowhere fast.

They learnt what the world was really like, a boring place in which they only found fun when they were together. They learnt to put on a fake face of happiness and to pretend to want to change, but really they were accepting of what they were.

Everything changed on their graduation day, a day most people hadn't believed they'd live to see with the way they had been going.

Akito had come to their usual meeting place where Shigure was already smoking, waiting for her. She had walked right up to him and told him they were going somewhere they'd never been before. He had followed her without question, just as she would have done if their positions had been reversed. She had taken him to a train station and they had caught the train as far as it would go and then they had gotten on another one; never saying a word as they did so, never needing to.

It wasn't until they had arrived at a large rice farming area that they had been forced to walk. They were still wearing their school uniforms and they had no money on them, only a packet of cigarettes between them and two lighters with suns on their cases. They had walked until it was dark and no one else was around, the stars the only things lighting their way as the moon had disappeared for the night.

She had finally stopped in an open field and looked up at the stars, seemingly not even noticing him stopping beside her and staring at her. A soft wind blew about her hair spreading the smell of jasmine as her dark eyes reflected the sky. It was in that moment that Shigure knew he was in love with her. She was the only thing he had thought about these past three years, the only person he cared to be with, the only one he wanted for the rest of his life.

"I'll never forgive you, you know." She broke the silence just when he wanted to speak, though she never looked at him. He watched as her eyes grew darker and a smile pulled at her lips.

He turned to the sky as well, knowing that he needn't say his thoughts aloud; not when she had voiced them for him already.

"I know." He finally said into the silence.

They hadn't said anything more and had stood there until dawn, watching as the morning light swallowed the stars and darkness. They left as the sun rose from behind the hills.

The next day, Akito was gone and Shigure didn't see her again until two years later when she had showed up at his door telling him she still didn't forgive him and that she wanted his mobile number so she could call him next time she passed through Tokyo.

Shigure sighed into the phone's silence, knowing she was waiting for his answer, the one that said he still felt the same.

"I know." He finally gave in; he'd never been able to refuse her.

"I'm passing through again, soon." She said idly, as if they were merely talking about the weather.

"You should stop by the café." He offered quietly, not sure if she would go for it or not. Usually she demanded that they meat in one of their old haunts, despite the many years it had been since they'd last actually been there.

"Why?" She sounded truly puzzled by such a suggestion, as if it was a completely foreign concept for him to be the one suggesting where they meet.

"I work there, the people there are kind… we would have liked it." He finished, referring to them in their youth.

'_Say yes, change your routine for once in your life.' _

She was silent for so long if he were speaking to any other person he would have thought she had left, but this was Akito and she never did anything a normal person would.

"Do they know you?" She finally asked.

"Partly." Was all he offered her, which part they knew he didn't need to specify – she knew; she always knew.

Silence again.

"I'll be passing through soon." She said in her soft yet demanding voice.

"I'll be at the Fruits Basket Café – Bookstore." Was all he could say before he heard a dial tone in his ear.

Flipping the phone closed in his hand, he carelessly chucked it onto the small side table he passed as he moved to his chair. Sitting down heavily, he reached over and picked up a cigarette and a small silver lighter with a sun on the cover. Flipping it open his lit up the cigarette before closing the lighter and putting it back on the small table before leaning back in his chair.

Looking up as he got comfortable, his eyes strayed for a moment to the writing desk that was doing nothing more than colleting dust in the corner of the room. There was a time when it would have been a scene of organised chaos, with books, pens, sheets of paper and post-it notes everywhere. It had been the place where many a story came to life from his hands. It was where he had brought the common worker and turned him into a valiant knight to save a kingdom. Beautiful women had been swept off their feet before taking charge and slaying the many money-grabbing evils with unprecedented courage. Children had been taken from the cruel streets and given a purpose in life, a connection to people and a reason to keep living.

But that was a long time ago. Now, all the old writing desk was good for was collecting dust and hiding dirt under.

Taking a deep drag of his cigarette, Shigure leaned his head back and watched through half lidded eyes as the smoke tendrils wafted towards the ceiling of his room.

It wouldn't be long before he got a visitor.


	10. 10 Tiger's Tears

Disclaimer - Character's are not mine.

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**Chapter Ten – Tiger's Tears**

She tried hard not to cry as the group of five girls stood around her, backing her against the window to a café. She bit the inside of her cheek in an effort not to let the tears in her amber eyes fall again. Then closed her eyes, trying to block out the jeers and hurtful words and hateful eyes that stared down at her.

'_I'm sorry, please, don't hurt me.'_ She whispered in her mind, knowing that no words she spoke would help her right now.

It hadn't always been this way. There was a time when Kisa could remember these girls smiling at her as they welcomed her each morning. Then something had changed, she didn't know what, but suddenly they didn't like her anymore. It wasn't long until everyone in her class didn't like her and she found them all making fun of her for her hair and eye colours. Just because she was a little bit different because of her American father, they all picked on her.

Now she was lucky to go through the day if none of them spoke to her, she would rather that then the cruel things they would say to her when the teacher wasn't listening.

"Hey, what's going on here?" A woman suddenly called out, causing Kisa to open her eyes and see the bully's around her scatter quickly. She, however, stood where she was as she looked over at her saviour.

The lady was still quite young, though obviously out of school, the corner of her eyes wrinkled slightly as she smiled at Kisa.

"Hello there, would you like to come inside for a hot chocolate, it's a little chilly outside today." The woman offered.

Kisa was about to refuse; she didn't have any money for such a thing.

"On the house, no charge except for you to tell me your name. I'm Tohru, buy the way." The brown haired woman opened the door and waited for her to go through first, smiling all the while.

Nervous, Kisa took a step towards her. This was the first time someone had wanted to talk to her in months. It made her hurt heart feel slightly warm to think this complete stranger wanted to meet her, even if it was only out of pity.

"K-kisa." She whispered, her voice sounding slightly foreign to herself, as it had been so long since she'd had to use it as no one would listen before.

"Kisa, what a lovely name." Tohru said softly, causing Kisa's eyes to widen at the unexpected compliment. No one had ever said that to her before. She felt a pleased flush creep into her cheeks that caused Tohru's smile to widen slightly.

"See, your colour's returning already." She teased softly, though her eyes were kind and Kisa knew she wasn't trying to hurt her with her words.

Still nervous, but slightly more sure of herself now, Kisa entered the café and looked around with wide eyes at all the tables, chairs and books all over the place.

"Kyo, Kisa here would like a hot chocolate please." Tohru called out, steering Kisa into the shop with a gentle hand resting on her shoulder. Looking up at the orange haired man who looked at her in curiosity from behind a counter, she quickly looked away from his red coloured eyes.

"Kisa, this is Hatsuharu, he's a friend of mine." Tohru said as she stopped them right at the back of the café where a larger table was located. Sitting at it was a young man with oddly black and white hair; he looked over at her with grey coloured eyes.

"H-hello." She whispered, breaking eye contact first and looking down at the floor in embarrassment.

'_They're all so grown up.'_ She thought to herself in amazement. She didn't know anyone who knew anyone this old without them being related to them.

"Call me Haru, everyone else does." He said, his voice had a calming quality to it and when she glanced up at him he was still looking at her.

He reached over and pulled out the chair next to him before patting it, obviously silently telling her to sit down next to him. Glancing up at Tohru, she moved to the seat when the older woman nodded encouragingly.

"Hot chocolate?" The orange man asked as he reached their table, a steaming mug on his small black tray.

"Here," Haru pointed at the table in front of Kisa and the other man placed the mug down before her.

"Do you want anything?" He asked, looking at Haru funny.

"No, not right now." Haru sent him a small smile, which made him turn pink.

"Tohru!" A voice suddenly called out as the chime above the door sounded, announcing the arrival of a blond haired high schooler. The adults' around her smiled in greeting so she guessed this boy must be a friend on theirs'.

'_They're so lucky to have so many friends.'_ She thought sadly, wishing she had just one friend.

"Momiji, meat Kisa." Tohru said gesturing to her as she watched big blue eyes look at her, sparkling with excitement.

"Hel-lo Kisa! It's nice to meet you." He leaned in close to her as he greeted her, causing a blush to stain her cheeks.

"Now, Kisa, who were those girls with you outside?" Tohru asked once Momiji had gone over to a man named Shigure who was waving his hands about behind the counter where the orange haired man, Kyo, had returned. Looking down at the tabletop, her fingers played with the warm mug before her.

"Were they being mean to you?" Haru asked quietly, leaning in closer to her as she felt him casually sling an arm around the back of her chair.

Rather then verbally responding, she just nodded her head slightly.

"Oh, Kisa, I'm so sorry. I should have gotten there faster." Tohru said sadly, the frown on her face looking out of place.

"No, it's ok." Kisa said softly, reaching out tentatively and taking hold of her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze of comfort.

Tohru gave her a small smile that made Kisa feel so very lucky and, for the first time in a while, happy.

"You call this establishment a café? It looks more like a rundown canteen." An obnoxious voice suddenly exclaimed loudly, breaking their moment.

Kisa looked over to see a boy who was wearing a middle school uniform from one of the most expensive ones in Tokyo. His sandy-brown hair was stylish and his dark brown looked around at everything as if they were beneath him.

"If you don't like it kid, why don't you go somewhere else?" Kyo snarled, an irritated look on his face.

"Is that the way you treat all your customers when they offer their own opinions on this pile of junk?" The boy asked, looking up at Kyo in boredom.

Personally, Kisa would never have had the bravery so say something so rude to someone so much older then herself. Besides, she had always been told not to be rude to her elders so this boy was a complete shock to her. She'd always thought that everyone was taught the same thing…

"Why you little-" Whatever it was Kyo was about to say didn't sound very nice, but Shigure suddenly clamped a hand over his mouth, laughing the whole time.

"Now, now, children. Why don't you take a seat, my little friend?" He asked, big smile in place as Kyo tried to push him off.

"Don't refuse to me as little or your friend, I am neither." The boy said snottily, but he did move to have a seat not too far away from where Kisa was sitting.

"Is anyone going to serve me, then?" He asked loudly, once again attracting attention.

Kisa watched as the boy continued to complain loudly about the café while Shigure took his order. As Shigure walked away, Kisa was surprised when the boy suddenly look straight at her, his eyes seemed to be full of fire from his complaints about the café and she found herself blushing and looking down at her hot chocolate in embarrassment at having been caught staring.

Picking up her cup and taking a sip, just for something to do, Kisa's eyes opened wide at the taste.

"Wow," she said quietly, eyeing the hot chocolate in surprise as she placed it carefully back on the little saucer.

"It's pretty amazing, isn't it?"

She jumped slightly, having momentarily forgotten that Haru sat silently beside her. Looking up, she could see his eyes were trained on Kyo, how was still spitting behind the counter about the boy sitting a few tables away from her.

"You know, when I was in school, I got teased a lot." He said quietly, so no one other than Kisa could hear her. "I guess I looked a bit, different, to the other kids." A small smile quirked the corner of his lips and his eyes fell to half-mast; he looked almost amused about it.

"What did you do?" Kisa found herself asking before she could stop herself.

"I beat the crap out of the kids that called me names and got suspended for a week." Haru glanced at her, dark amusement in his eyes as she blanched slightly.

There was a moment of stunned silence before Haru spoke again.

"It's not much fun, a lot of school is pretty crap. But you get by and, you realize, it doesn't last forever. School is only a tiny percentage of your life, once it's over and done with, you move on to better things. You're only in middle school right now; chances are that many of those kids will go to a different high school to you. It can be a chance to start over for you, if you let it."

"I think, maybe the best thing for you, would be to talk to someone about what's going on. It doesn't have to be a teacher or your parents, there are plenty of other people around who'd be willing to listen." Haru finished.

She looked up at him, tears shinning in her eyes, only just controlling herself and preventing the mad leap into his arms that she was craving. Just to have someone say they understood, to say that it wouldn't last forever. To say that they would listen to her, let her speak and not make fun of her for it.

A warm arm around her shoulders pulled her in close and she suddenly found herself sobbing silently into the warm chest of an almost stranger. She clung to him as the world narrowed down to just her, being able to finally release all the hurt and pain that had been building up for months now.

When the tears finally died down and she felt once more ready to face the world, feeling lighter than she could remember ever feeling before, she pulled back. Wiping at her wet cheeks, she blushed with embarrassment as she remembered where she was. Glancing around under her eyelashes, she was relived to note that from the looks of things, no one was paying her any mind, all wrapped up in what they were currently doing.

Looking up at the man beside her, she shyly tried to express her gratitude without saying anything.

He just smiled and ruffled her hair gently.

"When I've had a rough day, I find that hot chocolate can cure almost any ailment." He said warmly, before turning back to the table where a milkshake suddenly appeared thanks to Kyo.

"Hey kid, you alright?" He asked, voice holding a slight growl that may have been scary if it wasn't for he genuine concern in his crimson coloured eyes.

Glancing at Haru for a moment, and then over to Tohru who was cheerfully listening to Momiji who was rattling off everything he'd done at school that day, Kisa bravely looked up and met Kyo's eyes head on.

"Yeah, thank you." She said quietly.

"Hmm… I'll get you another one." Kyo suddenly reached out and took her mostly empty cup of hot chocolate and was off before she could say anything.

Haru snorted with amusement, but when she looked at him he didn't comment so she just settled back into her chair and watched the other customers quietly.

"I said I wanted hot soup, not lukewarm." The boy from before stated loudly.

"Why you-"

Kisa giggled happily as she watched Shigure once again grab Kyo as the orange haired man made a move towards the boy. The boy's eyes once again found her own and she felt herself blushing again; so focused was she on that, that she didn't notice the small smile curving her lips.


	11. 11 Cow's Confession

Disclaimer - Character's are not mine.

Warning - boy's kissing.

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**Chapter Eleven – Cow's Confession**

It had been a week since Haru had met little Kisa Tora and since that time she had been into the café four times. Each time she had come the little brat who, Haru had later learned, was named Hiro, Hiro Hitsuji, had preceded her. While Kisa was a sweet little kid, a bit shy but lovely to have around, Hiro complained loudly the whole time he was there and practically sprinted from the café the minute Kisa was out of sight of the window.

It was cute in a way, Haru supposed. The Hiro boy obviously had a crush on Kisa and was making an effort to be noticed by her. It was just too bad that the way he was going about it annoyed the hell out of everyone else, some of the other customers included.

Right now he was once again complaining to Tohru that his hot food wasn't hot, but warm and, if he'd wanted warm food, he'd have asked for it. Poor Tohru didn't really seem to know quite how to handle the precocious kid and Haru found his patience waning even more with each passing insult.

It was just when he was sure his darker personality was going to arise that Kyo, bless him, lost his own temper.

"Listen here you little twerp. I don't care who you are, whether you're a customer of the Queen of England; I'm not going to listen to any more of your crap. You either eat the food as it is and enjoy the atmosphere as it comes, or you bugger the hell off!" Kyo snarled, getting right up into Hiro's personal space to make his point.

Haru took a moment to admire the flushed cheeks and allow his mind to wander to other ways those cheeks could become flushed, before focusing on what was happening.

Hiro stared up at Kyo before his eyes darted over to Kisa for nothing more then a second, before he relaxed back in his chair.

"Well, are you going to leave me alone to eat my meal, or not?" He asked in a drawl.

Making an irritated sound in the back of his throat, Haru watched as Kyo stomped off to behind the counter again. Smiling slightly, Haru turned to Kisa and asked her how her day at school had been. He listened as she spoke, her quiet voice only adding to the cuteness that was Kisa.

It was a few hours later that Haru found himself walking to Master Kazuma's dojo with Kyo. They walked in silence and fairly close to each other, hands occasionally bumping together.

'_I wonder how much he would freak out if I grabbed his hand?'_ Haru wondered, glancing at the orange haired man out of the corner of his eye.

Hs thoughts were, however, interrupted by a sneering voice coming from behind them.

"Yo, you're Kyo Neko, aren't you?" Turning around, they saw three guys walking towards them. Scrapes and bruises were just visible on all three, suggesting that they were street thugs that preyed upon the weak.

"Depends on who's asking." Kyo leaned back into a purposely-casual stance, though Haru knew from many hours being his sparring partner at the dojo, that he could lung at them in a heartbeat.

"You're the punk whose mama killed herself to get away from, aren't you!" The one who had spoken before crowed as his two cronies laughed loudly.

"Poor, abandoned Neko, no one loves you, do they?" He teased maliciously.

Haru looked over at Kyo and the sight before him brought out his darker side faster then it had ever come out before.

The first time 'Black Haru' had emerged had been when Hatsuharu was just twelve, when his parents' divorce had finally been settled and his father had been landed with him. It was the first night he was 'officially' just his dad's, when his father had said something about being saddled with an annoying kid. Haru had felt himself snap and before he'd known it he was shouting that he didn't even want to be there in the first place and would be so much happier without him.

The things he had done had been become blurry with time, but in the end his father had basically ignored him for the rest of his childhood, doing nothing more then making sure that Haru had enough money, food to eat and shelter over his head. Haru had moved out a week after his eighteenth birthday and hadn't seen his father since. His mother had dropped off the face of the earth after the divorce was settled.

Since then, his black side had only emerged when he was feeling particularly angry or cornered. Really, it was because of his parents that he had become like he was today, normally calm and rational, until his black persona took over and he kicked the shit out of someone and wouldn't listen to reason until he was distracted and his white personality could shine through again. He hadn't been kidding when he'd told Kisa he'd been suspended thanks to some kids giving him crap and his black persona had come forth to deliver merry-hell on the annoying brats.

Haru had been sure that this personality disorder – that's what the doctor had called it before Haru's black side had punched him in the face – would keep him alone for the rest of his life. No one would want someone as screw up as he was, no one normal anyway.

Then he had met Kyo Neko, an angry, orange haired young man who told it like he saw it and didn't give a crap about what the rest of the world thought. At least, he appeared that way. But as Haru had gotten to know him, he had found that Kyo was actually quite a gentle soul who cared a great deal for others, was always thinking about them and wanting those he loved to be happy. From what he had heard, Kyo had experienced a pretty screwed up childhood that had left him angry and hurt.

Had first seen Kyo at the café, it had been on whim that Haru had actually been in there. Haru knew he had a bad sense of direction and he often found himself getting lost. He had actually been looking for the dojo when he had found himself hungry and the café was simply the closest food place around. The sight of the cute waiter though, had made him grab one of those outrageously bright fliers on his way out so that he'd be able to come back to the café again, just to see the waiter.

The shock he had felt at seeing the cute waiter at the dojo was immense. He had felt the butterflies start up in his stomach at the sight of that orange head of hair and those gorgeously unusual crimson coloured eyes. For a second all his attention had been completely focused on the man before him. It had surprised him even further to hear that this man, Kyo Neko, was actually the Master's adopted son that he had previously heard mentioned.

Over the past few months Haru had secretly been overjoyed to be able to spend so much time with Kyo. He was lucky Kyo's boss was such a nice and friendly girl, while she was a bit spacey, she really was lovely to be friends with. The other waiters and the various people that came and went through Fruits Basket just expanded Haru's previously non-existent circle of friends.

He could feel himself willingly relenting and allowing his black persona to take over as he saw the defeated look enter Kyo's eyes, his shoulders slumping no longer in false relaxation, but in surrender.

'_Why is he allowing them to say such lies about his own mother?'_

Without any other thoughts he moved, using the skills he had learned from the dojo until all three of the punks that had dared to insult the person he cared for were stumbling away, whimpering and bloody.

Once he was sure they were alone, he turned dark grey eyes onto Kyo, anger shinning in their depths.

"What the bloody hell was that?" He yelled, advancing on the orange haired man who just stared at him in shock.

"How could you allow some stupid punks to talk such shit to you?" He moved in closer to him, furious at his lack of response.

"Well? Come on Kyo, what the hell's your problem?" Haru pushed him roughly, hoping to snap his out of his silent state.

Kyo blinked before a furious look crossed his face.

"They were right!" Kyo yelled back, crimson eyes flashing in a familiar anger.

"What?" Haru asked, stopping his advancing on the other man. Confusion coloured his tone as he tried to understand what Kyo meant.

"They were right, ok? My mum, what they said about me being the reason, it's true, ok." Kyo turned away from him, shame colouring his voice as his head bowed slightly.

"You think your mum killed herself because of you?" Haru said softly, his white side slowly coming back to the surface in the face of a distressed Kyo.

"Yes, she did! Now kindly take your nose out of my fuckin' business!" Kyo spun around defensively.

Black Haru shoved his counterpart metaphorically out of the way and moved to the front of his mind.

"Don't try and shut me out. I'm not going to be pushed away so easily." He growled, taking a step closer to Kyo, who stubbornly stood his ground.

"Who the hell said you could but into my business like this? We've only known one another for a few months, you don't know anything about me!" Kyo made the mistake of reaching out to push Haru away, but Haru merely grabbed hold of his arms and held them tightly when he tried to pull away unsuccessfully.

"Let go, you moron!" Kyo snarled angrily.

"I know a hell of a lot about you, Kyo. We may have only known one another for a little while, but it doesn't feel like that, does it? It feels like we've known each other forever. You can't say that's not true." Haru's face was only inches from Kyo, his dark grey eyes staring into Kyo's crimson ones.

"Shut up!" Kyo yelled, eyes conflicted, as he pulled again to try and free his arms uselessly.

"Kyo, what those punks said, it's not true. No one would ever even think of hurting themselves just because they know you." Haru allowed a smile full of affection for the orange haired man to appear on his face. "Everyone just loves you too damn much for that." He said the last bit softly, but clear enough for Kyo to be unable to mistake any of the words for something else.

Kyo stared at up at his with huge eyes; Haru silently thanking the slight height advantage he had. After a while Kyo finally closed his eyes and bowed his head, accepting Haru's words.

Throwing caution to the wind, Haru let go of one of Kyo's arms and reached out and lifted Kyo's face by a hand under his chin. Looking into slightly moist eyes, Haru smiled softly before leaning in slowly, allowing Kyo time to pull away.

'_I love you too damn much to let anything hurt you.'_

Haru thought as his lips finally met Kyo's after waiting so long.


	12. 12 Boar's Insistence

Disclaimer - character's are not my own.

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**Chapter Twelve – Boar's Insistence **

'_I love the Bath House.'_ Kagura thought happily to herself as she finished dressing after a lovely warm bath. Picking up her things, she made her way to the reception area of the Bath House and her favourite part of her bathing routine.

She walked into the area and found the object of her joy was staring at something on the customer advertisement table.

'_I wonder what's on there that's keeping his attention?'_

"Ritsu! How are you this evening?" She called out happily, large smile on her face as she moved over to him.

"H-hello, K-kagura. I'm good." He stuttered.

'_He's just such a cutie-pie!'_ She giggled in her head.

"What were you looking at just now?" She asked, wandering over to the customer advertisement table. Looking at the different papers lying there as Ritsu stuttered behind her, denying he'd looked at anything. A bright pink, slightly creased flier advertising a new café – bookstore caught her attention. Picking it up a plan formed in her head.

Turning quickly to Ritsu, who was looking at her with wide eyes, she held up the flier.

"This is a flier for a café – bookstore place," she checked it again. "Fruits Basket… Would you go with me to check it out tomorrow night?" She asked, hope filling her.

"Uh, um, I, um, I-I er." She watched him have an internal war with himself, obviously embarrassed if the blush staining his cheeks was anything to go by.

Kagura had known Ritsu for the past seven months, ever since she had started going to the Bath House. He had been so nervous when he'd greeted her; a shy smile and big eyes had looked over at her from behind the counter. She had liked him immediately, as was in her nature; whenever she met someone she either liked him or her right away or didn't like him or her at all.

Her impulsive and sometimes violently excited personality had been the cause for many problems for her in her life. Many people found her to be hard to deal with, despite how hard she tried to do the right thing. If it wasn't for her parents she didn't know what she would have done. Thanks to their understanding nature she had been able to grow up in a relatively protected and loving environment. Despite some exclusion from her peers, she had grown up as a fairly happy child.

"Just say yes, Ritsu." She grinned at him, giggling when he flushed bright red.

"Why don't we go for dinner, can you get off work anytime soon?" She pressed, leaning towards him, flier still clutched in her hands.

"Um, I g-guess I could, on T-tuesday…" He trailed off uncertainly.

"Wonderful, I'll meet you here?" She called out, quickly turning and leaving, not wanting to give him a chance to change his mind. However, as soon as she stepped outside the Bath House she pumped a fist into the air.

'_YES!'_ Giggling to herself like some high school girl, she made her way home; mind already thinking over her date on Tuesday.

***()

Tuesday had seemed to drag its feet and Kagura found herself watching the seconds tick by on more than one occasion. She had taken the whole day off work at the massage parlour so that she could make herself look so gorgeous she just knew Ritsu would ask her for another date!

Giggling to herself as she applied the final touches to her makeup, she looked at herself in the mirror. She was dressed casually, yet with a dress that was just elegant enough to make her look like she could be going to a fancy up-stage restaurant rather than a small café for dinner. Not that she minded; she liked the look of the place from when she had seen it on her walk past yesterday.

She had been curious and had needed to know how fancy or casual she needed to dress. When she had walked past, it had seemed like a friendly and welcoming place. There had been some school kids in there at the time, they were laughing as they spoke to what appeared to be one of the waiters. As she had watched, she'd almost had to physically restrain herself from going inside and introducing herself to everyone. She was hoping that she would offer a more level playing field if neither Ritsu nor herself knew anything or anyone about the café.

Although the day had dragged its feet, it seemed like no time at all before she found herself turning the street corner to the Bath House where she was to meet Ritsu for their date.

As she reached her destination, Ritsu walked nervously out of the Bath House entrance and she found her heart skipping a beat. He looked gorgeous with his hair pulled back into a low ponytail, his shirt and pants both smart and casual. His brown eyes and slightly fidgeting hands were the only things that gave away his true nervousness.

'_He must have spent ages talking himself into this.'_ She thought, a soft smile blooming on her face unbidden. She knew he was a naturally shy person, shy to the extreme that was. The fact that he had found the courage to be here right now spoke volumes to her about how much he cared.

"Hello, Ritsu." She said warmly, standing before him and trying not to show the butterflies that were flying about in her stomach.

"K-kagura." He nodded, slight endearing stutter present.

Pushing all her nervousness to the back of her mind, she reached out and took his hand in hers. Turning to the direction of the café, she pulled him so that he was in line with her and began walking.

"So, how are you tonight?" She asked, looking up at him from beneath her eyelashes.

"I'm g-good, yourse-self?" He asked, glancing down at her before looking away quickly as a blush stained his cheeks.

"I'm great!" She said, grinning enthusiastically as she tried to lighten the atmosphere between them.

They walked in silence the rest of the way to the café and it was only as they were entering the place and the warmth and comfortable atmosphere hit them that Kagura felt Ritsu relax slightly beside her.

"So, where would you like to sit?" She asked, looking over at him and mentally giggling at the small flush that stained his cheeks.

"Um, well, what about over there?" He gestured vaguely towards the mid-back of the room and Kagura happily went over and sat herself down at one of the two seat tables. She waited patiently for him to sit down across from her before she spoke again.

"So, have you ever been here before?" She asked, picking up the menu and looking over the different foods and drinks.

"Um, y-yes, I've been here a few times." He said quietly, looking down at his lap.

"Really!" She put the menu down and leaned forward slightly so that she was able to catch his elusive eyes.

'_He's so cute!'_ she squealed as the blush on his cheeks intensified as their eyes met.

"Well, can you recommend anything for me then?" She asked flirtatiously.

She was delighted when he began stuttering and fumbling for words before they were interrupted by a quiet voice of one of the waiters.

"Hello Ritsu, I see you've got a date this evening." She looked up at the purple haired guy and sent his a large smile as a small blush worked its way onto her own cheeks at the word 'date'.

"Oh! Um, n-no it's n-n-not, I mean, um." Ritsu's whole face flushed and Kagura cut him off before he could say anything else.

"Yes, it's our first date so we decided to come here. The place had such cute fliers!" Kagura said, giggling as she recalled the brightly coloured paper.

"Well, I hope you both have a good night then. I'm Yuki, by the way, I'll be your waiter this evening." His smile was nice, but not as nice as the one Ritsu would show when he thought no one was watching.

'_I wish he would smile more often.'_ She thought with an almost dreamy sigh.

"Would you like your usual, Ritsu?" Yuki continued talking, pen poised above the notebook he held in his hand.

"Um, y-yes please, Yuki."

"Ok, one salad and fish coming right up. And what would you like, Miss?" Yuki asked, turning to Kagura.

"Please, call me Kagura. And salad and fish sounds nice, I think I'll have the same, thank you." She sent him a smile before turning her attention back to Ritsu who was now fiddling with a small packet of sugar on the table.

"Right away." Yuki said and walked away.

They sat in a slightly awkward silence for a moment before Kagura broke it.

"Well, this is a nice place, isn't it?"

'_Was that seriously the best thing you could come up with?'_ She mentally hit herself in the head at the stupid comment. _'Of course it's nice, otherwise Ritsu wouldn't come back again, would he?' _

"Yes, yes it is." She looked up quickly, surprised at the tone of voice he had adopted, it almost sounded confident. "The people here are always nice." He suddenly seemed to realise what he was doing a small flush stained his cheeks. "W-well, um, I mean – Kyo!" He suddenly said, confusing her for a moment before a man suddenly reached over and put food down on the table before her.

"Hey," the orange haired man seemed completely distracted and left them alone before any more words could be exchanged.

"That's odd… he usually says more than that." Ritsu said, more to himself than Kagura. Feeling like they were getting nowhere, she picked up a fork and stabbed a piece of lettuce before putting it in her mouth and chewing, just for something to do.

As they fell into tense silence again, she searched her mind for something that they could talk about.

"So, Ritsu," she waited until he had glanced up at her, knowing she had his attention. "Do you do anything other than come here and work at the Bath House?" She asked, putting as much curiosity and energy as she could into the simple question.

After that, the night flowed better, while Kagura found herself talking more than Ritsu did, he didn't seem to mind and she was content to feel his eyes on her. Her favourite part of the night was when she made him laugh, the small, slightly timed sound caused her heart to swell with affection and she silently endeavoured to make him laugh more often.

She happily waved goodbye to her new friends – Tohru, Yuki and Shigure; Kyo hadn't said much all night much to the odd looks of those who knew him. They left the café to the sound of laughter and wishes to see them again soon. Stopping for a moment outside, Kagura was pleasantly surprised when Ritsu broke the silence.

"I-I'll walk y-you home." Though a blush stained his cheeks, Kagura could also see a small spark of determination in his eyes, which filled her with joy.

'_He's being brave for me!'_

"Ok, it's this way. Thanks." Giving him her best smile, she turned and they began walking side-by-side down the quiet streets. Though silence had once again descended upon them, something about it was more comfortable then it had been earlier on in the night. When they were about halfway to her home, she gathered her courage together.

'_Just do it, if he pulls away he does, if he doesn't, well, that's great.' _

Swinging her arm a little more than was actually natural, Kagura managed to catch Ritsu's hand in her own and held it loosely, giving him time to pull it away if he didn't want it. Apart from a slight falter in his steps and a small gasp, he didn't say anything.

Shyly, she glanced up at him from under her bangs, pink dusting her own cheeks. While his face was flushed, there was a small quirking of his lips upward as he looked straight ahead.

"Hey, Ritsu?" She said softly, seeing his eyes dart down to look at her before looking forward again.

"Y-y-yes?"

"Thanks, you know, for tonight… I had a lot of fun." She gave him a small smile of her own that he managed to mirror before she held his hand more tightly in her own.

"I hope we can do this again…" She offered hopefully. He was silent for a while and she felt disappointment swell in her.

'_Maybe I was wrong? I thought he liked me, but what if I was reading him wrong?'_ She thought in slight panic.

"I…" She looked up at him quickly, biting her bottom lip in suspense. "I'd l-like that too." He finished, determinedly not looking at her.

She struggled not to jump up and down on the spot in joy.

"Right!" Grinning she began pulling him along down the street, her happiness needing to be expressed in some way. Though he looked surprised, no protest came from his lips so she took that as a good sign.

'_This is going to be so much fun!'_


	13. 13 Dragon's Past

Disclaimer - Character's are not my own.

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**Chapter Thirteen – Dragon's Past**

"That will be all for today." Standing before the pre-med students in the large lecture theatre, Hatori Ryun dismissed his students after a long two hours. The effect was immediate, hundreds of people were closing books, shoving their things into bags, gossiping and pulling out mobiles that they hadn't checked for the past five minutes.

Ignoring them for the most part, Hatori packed up his own things and snapped his briefcase closed. Checking to make sure no one was hanging around to ask any questions, he exited the room and headed towards his car.

Hatori had been working at Tokyo University for the last eight years, ever since he had stopped working in an actual hospital. Getting into his car, he patiently waited for the long line of cars to move along as the many students left campus after their classes. He was on his way to a late lunch with one of his past students, Yuki Nezumi-Hebi. They had become friends after they'd discovered they both thought similarly upon the topic of synthetic blood experimentation. One discussion lead to talking over coffee and then before they knew it they were having lunches together. Hatori enjoyed listening to the young man's ideas and Yuki seemed enraptured to listen to Hatori's stories about when he was in medical school or when he was working in the hospital.

Lost in thought, he started to exit from the parking lot, only to snap back to reality when someone yelled angrily at him. Slamming on the breaks, Hatori looked up and saw a brown haired student frowning at him, hand running through her short hair nervously. The woman threw him an irritated look before crossing the road and going on her way. Hatori however, felt his heart ache with old pain.

Her name had been Kanna, and she had been his whole world. They were sweethearts in medical school and were married at the age of twenty-three. They had two blissful years together before the accident. It had been snowing, a blizzard, she had been driving home and the car had skidded on the ice. By the time help arrived, it was already to late… she'd died.

The old pain still cropped up every now and then, whether it is by a waft of perfume or short brown hair that lit up in the sun. It was just the small things that reminded him most strongly of her. Even now, eight years after it had happened, he could still remember her most vividly. However, he didn't expect to wake up and find it had all been a dream any more, he had been able to move on enough for that.

The honking of a car horn behind him made a frown appear on his face before he put the car into gear and started moving again, pulling his mind away from the saddening thoughts and onto something more positive, his lunch with Yuki.

It was a silent drive to the small café-bookstore that Yuki was now working at. He had been working there for a few months now and he appeared to be enjoying it quite a bit, especially if this crush on his boss was anything to go by. Making sure the smile wasn't showing on his face as he entered the place, he was mildly amused by the stereotypical chime of a bell above the door.

Looking around, he was surprised at how much he liked the decor already. Usually it took more than just the look of the place for him to like it. A young woman pulled herself away from a loud group down the back of the café, the youngsters talking loudly and laughing, clearly having a good time. The brunet walked up to him and the large smile on her face made him peg her for the boss.

"Hi there, how can I help you today?" She asked, head tilting to the side slightly in an innocent manner of curiosity.

"I'm supposed to be having lunch with Yuki here," he said softly, inwardly smiling when her brown eyes seemed to light up slightly.

"Oh, well, he's not here at the moment but I can set you up with a table for now if you'd like?" She offered, gesturing to the few free tables in the establishment.

He was just about to accept her offer when the door to the place was flung open and the object of their conversation practically ran into the room. Hatori was surprised when he was followed – almost chased – by another man with long silver coloured hair and golden eyes.

"I'm just saying it might be fun!" The older man complained, looking dejected as he came to a stop behind Yuki.

"NO! You living with me is not a good idea at all!" Yuki snapped, looking more exasperated than Hatori had ever seen him.

"But Yuki." The man whined loudly.

"You're impossible." Yuki bluntly told the man before turning and seeming to notice Hatori for the first time.

"Oh, Hatori, sorry I'm late. I couldn't get away." He shot the man behind him a particularly accusing look, but the other just gave him a look of innocence.

"That's fine, are you ready for lunch now?" Hatori asked him, curiously looking at the other man who was now staring at him in a most peculiar manner.

'_How on earth do they know one another?'_

"Oh – Yuki! You didn't tell me you had a lunch date! My, but isn't he a bit old for you?" The silver haired man asked, uncaring for the looks they were getting from the other customers in the café.

"Sometimes the utter rubbish that spouts from your mouth truly astounds me." Yuki said bluntly, before sighing.

"Hatori, this here is my older brother, Ayame Nesumi-Hebi; Ayame, this is my friend and one of my professors at university, Hatori Ryun." Yuki reluctantly introduced them, though he appeared resigned to his fate.

"Hatori, hey? It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Ayame held out his hand and shook Hatori's, a charming smile on his face, as his eyes seemed to glow in the light of the café.

"Likewise." Was all Hatori could say, bemused by the almost bashful mannerisms suddenly appearing.

"Oh, and this here is Miss Tohru Honda, the owner of this fine establishment." The gentle praise caused the young woman's cheeks to flush, but Yuki just smiled softly at her.

'_I wonder what Yuki would say if I told him how similar he is to his brother at the moment?'_ Hatori thought amusedly.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Miss Honda, I've heard a lot about you from Yuki here." Hatori said, sending Yuki a small smile at the dusting of pink staining his cheeks at his words.

"Anyway, let's have lunch, shall we?" Yuki changed the subject, as he determinedly didn't look over at Tohru.

"If I could make a suggestion?" Ayame spoke up.

"No," Yuki said snapped, but the older man carried on as if Yuki hadn't said anything.

"Why don't you both join us for lunch at the back. It will be a lot of fun for sure. Hatsuharu, Momiji, Kisa and Shigure are there already." Ayame suggested, almost bouncing over to the back table that Hatori had noted earlier.

"Oh, yes, you're more than welcome to join us if you'd like." Tohru said, voice eager but honest.

"With an offer like that how could we refuse?" Hatori said, slightly amused by the delighted look on her face.

As she rushed off to get a menu, Yuki turned to Hatori with a small frown.

"I'm sorry, we don't have to sit with them if you'd rather not. After all, it was meant to be a lunch between us, not all that lot." He nodded his head slightly in the direction of the loud group of people.

"No, it's ok. There's nothing wrong with trying something new every once and awhile." Hatori said with a convincing smile.

'_It's not like one lunch will hurt.'_ He told himself.

The lunch that followed was one of the most hectic, loud and enjoyable lunches that Hatori had ever been to. He was quite content for the most part to observe as Yuki attempted to talk to him, only to be interrupted by Ayame who, Hatori was pretty sure, was flirting away like crazy with him. That was when Ayame wasn't helping out Shigure in teasing Kyo and Haru about their new relationship, apparently they were now celebrating their two-week anniversary, much to the orange haired boys embarrassment and the two-tone haired boys quite amusement. Then there was Momiji, who seemed to be trying to have three different conversations at the same time as well as continually antagonizing a young boy sitting at a different table who was acting like a brat – apparently his name was Hiro. The young girl, Kisa, seemed to delight in all the sisterly affection Tohru herself bestowed on her as Yuki occasionally gave the brunette smitten looks.

Hatori had given up on trying to keep up with the different conversations and arguments going on around the table and instead focussed only on what was said to him directly.

"So Hatori, Yuki tells me you're his professor at university?" Ayame said loudly, causing Yuki to quietly groan in defeat at what Hatori was sure he perceived to be a potentially embarrassing moment coming up.

"Yes, I'm one of his professors." Hatori agreed, wondering where this was going.

"Hmm, interesting." There was a moment of silence before a spark of mischief entered his eyes, which only made Yuki wince in advance to whatever he was sure to come out with next.

"So, tell me. How is my darling little brother in his classes? As his big brother it's my duty to make sure he studies hard." Ayame said loudly, not seeming to care that his 'darling little brother' was now eyeing him like he could shut him up with the power of him mind alone.

"Bother, you're making a scene!" Yuki hissed.

"Oh, am I really? Sorry all, I'm just so proud that my darling little brother's going to be a doctor!" Ayame laughed as he finished in a mock attempt at being embarrassed. Privately, Hatori wondered if the man had ever even felt embarrassed before in his life.

"Does this mean you'll treat me for free if I should need it?" Ayame suddenly asked, looking completely serious as he leaned in closer to Yuki.

"No," Yuki said bluntly, causing Ayame to pout and sigh loudly.

"Well you're no fun. Hatori, you'll help me if I should need it, won't you?" Ayame said, turning his golden eyes on to the lecturer.

"I'm not a practicing doctor anymore." Hatori said simply as he took a sip of his tea.

"You two are hopeless. What's the point in having a decent job like that if you can't exploit it?" He asked before a large smile flashed across his face and he turned towards Shigure who had just said something to make Kyo jump to his feet and raise an arm to hit him. Haru, however, merely reached up and pulled him back down to his seat, much to the orange haired man's annoyance.

"Aww, lookie at that! Kyo's whipped!" Momiji cried out loudly in laughter. This time Haru didn't even attempt to stop Kyo from jumping up from his seat and beginning to chase Momiji around the tables, uncaring for any of the other guests at the café.

'_Though everyone else seems to find this perfectly normal so they must all be regulars as well.'_ Hatori thought as no one even seemed to look twice at the blond and orange blurs running around them.

Hatori found himself enjoying the conversations and excitement that he'd not felt in years. Ever since Kanna had died, he'd felt almost detached from the world as a whole. Very few things brought him joy anymore. Yet as he listened to one of Ayame's stories from his career as a fashion designer, he felt the stirring of laughter in his chest and before he knew it he was chuckling. Ayame looked almost giddy with joy at the sight and endeavoured to continue making Hatori laugh for the rest of the very long lunch that was close to turning into a dinner as well if they weren't careful.

Many hours later, Hatori and Yuki stood to leave, fond farewells and wishes to see them both again soon followed them out of the chiming door. Once outside, they wrapped their scarves tighter around their necks to stave off the cold before Yuki turned slightly guilty eyes on Hatori.

"Sorry about that, Hatori. Once my brother and that lot get started, it's hard to get them to stop." He blushed slightly in embarrassment.

"No, it's ok. I actually quite enjoyed your brother's company and everyone else was rather nice as well." Hatori found the words leaving his mouth before he'd really thought them through. For a moment he hesitated, wondering how he should revise them before he realised that they were the truth.

He really had enjoyed being around Ayame, more so than he'd enjoyed anyone's company for a long time. The other man was fun loving and seemed to know just what to say to make Hatori laugh.

"Well, if you say so. Though I find it hard to believe anyone can actually enjoy that much exposure to my brother without being slightly insane." Yuki muttered; looking away and speaking in an almost alarmingly truthful manner, as if he honestly couldn't believe anyone would be able to stay in his brother's company for long periods of time before they went completely bonkers.

Smiling, Hatori clapped the younger man on his shoulder.

"We should come back here again, soon. I had quite an enjoyable time." Hatori said with a small smile. Yuki looked at him for a moment before smiling back.

"Well, it's certainly something different to our usual lunches." Yuki conceded.

'_Yes, it certainly was.'_ Hatori thought as he offered Yuki a lift back to his apartment.

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	14. 14 Fish's Fortune

**Disclaimer - Characters are not mine**

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**Chapter Fourteen – Fish's Fortune **

Finishing her prayer, Arisa stood up from the shrine she had been praying before. Fixing her long skirt, she turned and began walking towards the exit.

'_Higarashi Shrine is so beautiful.'_ She thought absentmindedly to herself as she walked along the paved pathway. She had been coming to offer her prayers of thanks for the resent success of Tohru's café-bookstore. Her younger friend was so happy at the moment; it made her own heart fill with joy at seeing the young woman smile so freely.

She could still remember the day that the news of Kyoko's death arrived. Poor Tohru had already lost her dad, losing her mum could have pushed her over the edge. But she was such a tough kid, for looking so delicate and small. She still found reasons to smile and laugh, to be happy, and for that Arisa admired her. It had been as they were standing at Kyoko's grave that Arisa and Saki had sworn to always look out for Tohru, it was the least they could do for Kyoko.

Smiling to herself she was slightly distracted from her own thoughts as someone on the path ahead of her suddenly stood up, obviously having finished their own prayers. It only took her a moment before a slight blush bloomed across her own cheeks as she recognised the man as Koreno *.

"Arisa?" Surprise coloured Koreno's voice as his eyes landed on the blond woman.

"Koreno! I forgot you came here." Arisa laughed nervously.

'_Gosh, he's so handsome.'_ She thought, giggling to herself.

"It's good to see you again." He gave her a smile that made butterflies erupt in her stomach.

"Yeah, it's great to see you again as well." She gave him a large smile as they stood before one another. There was a moment of silence in which Arisa didn't know what to say as he stood looking at her.

"So, what were you doing here?" She asked, mentally kicking herself as soon as the words were out of her mouth.

'_What kind of question is that? This is a temple, he was obviously praying, what else would __he be doing? You idiot!' _

"I was just sending up a prayer or two for people I would like to have help. The usual sort of things." He gave another of his charming smiles and she momentarily lost her train of thought.

"I was just doing the same thing." She gave him what she hoped was a pretty smile; his smile didn't fade at all.

"Would you like to sit down for a while, if you have the time?" He offered, gesturing to the small seat sitting under the shade of a large tree.

"Yes! That'd be great." She blushed slightly at the obvious enthusiasm in her voice.

They moved over to the seat and sat down, Arisa being careful to look over at him only occasionally so she didn't seem silly.

'_Yet with the way I'm acting I wouldn't be surprised if he thought I was a bit odd already.' _

"So, Arisa, how did you become friends with Saki?" Koreno asked after yet another moment of silence.

"Oh, well that's mostly thanks to Tohru. See, Saki got transferred into our class in Middle School and she was so different, most of the other kids were too stupid to try and befriend her, they just whispered behind her back." Arisa rolled her eyes as she remembered back to the day Saki Hanajima had been introduced to the class. The stupid kids all around her had been whispering and pointing, spreading rumours about why she had changed to their school – none of which were probably true and all of which were cruel.

"Everyone, did it; except for Tohru. She just smiled and told me she'd like to be this new girls friend. Personally, I didn't really care at the time if Tohru wanted to be her friend or not, it just meant that there would be someone else around us all the time. It took a while, but eventually Tohru worked her magic on Saki like she did with me and before we knew it, we were all the best of friends. And it's been like that since then, the three of us – together." Arisa smiled fondly at the thoughts of her two closest friends.

"So you and Tohru were friends since you were young?" Koreno asked curiously.

A darker look entered Arisa's normally bright blue eyes as a small frown graced her face. When she took a moment to reply, Koreno hurriedly began apologising.

"Sorry, I don't mean to intrude or anything, I was just curious. You don't have to say anything if you'd rather not."

"No, it's not that. It's just that, well, before Tohru I was mixed up in some pretty crapy stuff." Glancing at him, she decided to take a leap of faith.

'_He stuck around Saki despite her weirdness; maybe he'll stick around even though I used to do some pretty stupid stuff. No one besides Tohru and Saki ever had, but he might be different… Besides, if he doesn't, I can put him on the list of people I think are absolute pricks.'_ She thought dryly to herself.

"See, I had a rubbish home life, who didn't?" She joked weakly. "Anyway, it's the generic story, I fell in with the wrong crowd, skipped school, hardly ever went home. Before I knew it, I was part of a gang." She shrugged helplessly.

"Wait, you were a Yankee?" She winced slightly at his comment, but nodded nonetheless.

"Oh, well, ok… go on." He made a continue gesture with his hand and she did so.

"Anyway, it was on one of the few days that I actually bothered to turn up at school and there was this little kid who had dropped her stuff all over the floor. All the other kids were picking on her and calling her names, as kids do. But she just sat there with this silly smile on her face and happily apologised, as if they weren't being mean at all. So, I stuck up for her, I had no idea why at the time. It made her take notice of me and suddenly she was around all the time. I found myself turning up to school just to see her, to make sure that she was ok. It was like I had someone to protect, for once in my life, and I just found myself unable to let her down."

"It also didn't hurt that her mum was the legendary Red Butterfly. She used to be a Yankee just like I was, she was my idle. I was horrified the first time I met her, she was this doting mum who was all silly smiles and sincere words – just like her daughter. It was under their influence that I decided that I wanted something more from my life than running with a gang. I went and told them I wanted out," she laughed in a slightly bitter manner.

"They didn't like that and they beat the crap out of me. But Kyoko came and saved me, she didn't care if they hurt her as well, she just wanted me to be safe. After that, Tohru and Kyoko came two of the most important people in my life. But, anyway, that's my dark past for you." She gave Koreno small shrug and looked away, not wanting to see the disgust and dislike that would surely be painting his face at the moment.

The longer the silence dragged out between them, the most her heart sank until she was feeling quite sick. She was beginning to contemplate the idea of just getting up and leaving herself, to save him the trouble, when he spoke up quietly, startling her.

"Well, we've all got to start somewhere. Even if it is joining a gang and becoming a Yankee, the important part is that you changed, you made a life for yourself and didn't allow your past to stop you from doing what you wanted to do."

She looked over at him in shock, eyes big and round as she attempted to believe what he was saying, believe that he really meant what he was saying.

"You've moved on from that, that's the main thing."

'_He's perfect.'_ She silently thought, as an old feeling of tears was help in check.

"So does this mean that you'll be beating the crap out of Yuki for making cow eyes at Torhu?" Koreno teased her gently.

A surprised laugh bubbled up and escaped before she could think about it.

"No, Yuki seems like a good guy, as long as he treats her right I won't have to resort to any kind of violence." She laughed back at him, the feeling of relief at his acceptance and even making a joke about the whole thing – she'd never felt so light and free.

"Well, I'm sure he's relived to know that."

"Oh, he doesn't know that. I'm keeping him on his toes in a silent threat about it." She gave him a mischievous grin, which made him laugh.

The two talked for a bit longer before an alarm sounded and Koreno apologised as he pulled out his phone. Checking it, he sighed and told her he had to get back to work. Privately she liked to entertain the thought that he sounded disappointed that he had to leave her.

"It was nice to see you again, I hope to catch up with you again soon." He said as he stood up and began moving towards the exit of the temple.

'_He's leaving, do it now or you might never have a chance to do it again!'_ She gathered her courage together and quickly ran after him, calling out his name.

"Koreno, wait a moment." Stopping before him, she tried to fight down a blush as she blurted out the words before she could think too much more about it.

"I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me sometime this week?"

'_Oh gosh!'_

The grin that spread over Koreno's face was almost like the sun rising.

"I thought you'd never ask."


End file.
